Audit office flags documentation and procurement issues at several Fairfax schools
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Summary
The Office of Auditor General reported moderate business‑process findings at Annandale High, Cameron Elementary and Louis Archer Elementary, including missing deposit slips, premature disbursement of CBI funds and purchases made without purchase orders; management agreed to corrective actions and follow‑up reviews.
The Fairfax County School Board Audit Committee heard on March 2 that business process audits of six schools turned up several moderate findings that the Office of Auditor General said require corrective action.
Brittany Hamilton of the Office of Auditor General presented the summary, saying the audits — conducted November 2025 through January 2026 — found zero high‑risk issues, four moderate findings across three schools, ten low‑risk findings and two schools with no findings. "We started these audits in November 2025 up until January 2026," Hamilton said.
The audit singled out Annandale High School for two moderate findings. Auditors found missing documentation for CTE cash receipts, including absent deposit slips and eight cash‑advance checks that lacked the required cash‑advance forms. Auditors also reported procurement noncompliance: a Community‑Based Instruction allotment of $1,050 was disbursed by check before specific trip approvals; only $105 in activities had been approved, leaving roughly $945 of unspent cash in the school safe. Auditors additionally identified about $21,000 in football uniform purchases that were ordered without an approved purchase order.
Cameron Elementary received one moderate finding: four cash‑receipt records lacked collection and verification dates, preventing the audit team from verifying timely deposits.
At Louis Archer Elementary auditors reported inappropriate charging of staff refreshments (about $694) to student activity fund accounts instead of an administrative fund.
Hamilton outlined OAG recommendations to address the findings, including requiring the FS‑131 deposit slip and FS‑132 cash‑advance forms for applicable transactions, enforcing a PO‑first purchasing rule, documenting received and verified dates on cash receipts to ensure timely deposits, and ensuring disbursements are charged to the correct funding source. "For all of these moderate findings, management concurs," Hamilton said; she added the OAG will schedule follow‑up reviews to verify corrective actions have been integrated into daily operations.
In committee discussion, Mr. Moon asked whether the term "cash disbursement" referred to checks; OAG staff said the office defines "cash" to include cash and check equivalents and offered to consider clarifying the terminology. Mr. Moon also expressed concern that refreshments charged to student activity funds could be perceived as misuse of funds and said he would raise the issue with the superintendent. A committee member noted that some refreshments are purchased for parent events and can be legitimate school expenses, underscoring the need for auditors to document context when recommending corrective action.
The audit office will report back with follow‑up results.