OAG reports rising hotline inquiries; staff urges wider publicity

Esther, an Office of the Auditor General staff member, told the Fairfax County Public Schools Audit Committee on Sept. 15 that the office has seen a general increase in inquiries to its internal hotline since fiscal year 2021 and that the trend continued through August of this year.

The trend matters because it affects OAG workload and can surface issues the office may review, Esther said. "We received about 9 inquiries so far through August," she said, and added that as of Sept. 15 she had "15 altogether for this fiscal year." The inquiries vary by category, she said, including conflict of interest and documentation; one of the largest single categories was matters not related to fraud, waste and abuse at FCPS.

The nut of the discussion was how committee members should interpret and use the numbers. Audit committee member Mr. Moon asked whether a rising count should be a concern or a sign that employees are using the hotline; Esther said auditors look to the facts and that rising reports represent more workload for the office and indicate employees know where to raise concerns. "The numbers do represent a good amount of workload for the team," she said.

Committee member Anne John Kenny asked for examples of items classified as "not related to fraud, waste and abuse," and whether patterns in those reports could point to policy changes. Esther said many such items are allegations or concerns rather than proven wrongdoing; examples she gave included complaints about responsiveness from school board members and operational matters such as water filtration at a facility. She said specific policy responses depend on the details of the cases and, when personnel issues are involved, some matters may be handled in closed session.

Committee members and staff discussed outreach. Esther asked audit committee members to help spread notice of the hotline by including it in newsletters and their community networks. "We will continue to advertise the hotline," she said, and stressed that the office conducts a preliminary review of every claim "according to our regulation 1410." There was no formal vote or motion; the committee did not adopt a new outreach policy during the meeting.

Clarifying details from the presentation: OAG reported about 9 hotline inquiries through August 2025 and said the fiscal‑year trend has risen since FY2021; Esther reported that, by Sept. 15, she had recorded 15 inquiries for the fiscal year. Categories shown in the OAG document included conflict of interest and documentation; the presentation characterized many items as allegations or concerns rather than confirmed fraud, waste or abuse.

The committee did not take formal action on the hotline summary; staff said it will continue outreach and return data in future reports. The public meeting closed at 4:43 p.m. and the board moved to closed session.

Ending: Staff said it will keep reporting trends and bring specific policy recommendations to the committee only when case details point to systemic problems that warrant policy changes.