Still Waiting on Travel Audit; Questions about Travel Comment in General Audit
An audit of City School Board travel expenses that was to have been completed in December 2025 is "still in process," and a comment about travel in the general audit appears to have been edited.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
A special audit into Fredericksburg School Board travel expenditures that was commissioned in October of 2025 and supposed to be completed at the end of December 2025 is still ongoing, division superintendent Marci Catlett said last week.
In addition, the school division’s response to comments from the general fiscal year 2025 audit that identified discrepancies between School Board travel expenditures and division guidelines was edited following push back from a board member, emails and documents reveal.
Travel Audit Still Not Available
Catlett told the Advance during a phone conversation on May 21 that the travel audit is “still in process” and that staffing changes in Central Office over the winter—the departure and replacement of the chief finance and operations officers—caused the delay.
The scope of the special travel audit, which was to be carried out by accounting firm Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates, was laid out in an engagement letter signed on October 7, 2025, by former School Board member Matt Rowe.
According to the letter, the firm was to “Review the travel expenditures of all School Board members for the period of 7/1/24 to 6/30/25,” then “Document any deviations from FCPS travel, purchase card, and any other relevant policies and procedures,” and “Review FCPS calculations of amounts due for reimbursement from School Board members for accuracy.”
This audit was expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Andrew Grossnickle, partner in the accounting firm, told Jennifer Brody, the former chief finance officer, in a December 9, 2025, email that, “I anticipate the detailed special engagement to be completed, and a draft report provided by the end of the month.”
Brody also told Rowe in a December 17, 2025, email that he should “receive the results of the travel special engagement by the end of the month.”
She noted that School Board member Jarvis Bailey “has indicated he would be willing to pay back any expenses that were not acceptable to the auditor. He has already reimbursed FCPS for the majority of those costs, including all costs related to the Hawaii trip except for the rental car.”
Read the Advance’s coverage of Fredericksburg School Board travel concerns here and here.
The Advance requested the results or the draft report from the special travel audit twice. In a May 20, 2026, email to the Advance, the division’s FOIA officer, Mike George, wrote: “I have searched for and requested all records associated with the special engagement, and no one appears to have any additional records or documentation related to it … during the most recent expanded search and review, I searched the OneDrive, Teams, and email accounts for all School Board members, central office administrators, and the Finance Department. This search also included records from 2026.”
The Advance contacted the auditor, who referred us back to the division.
General Audit Comment on Travel Expenditures
The general audit of Fredericksburg City Public Schools’ financial statements for fiscal year 2025 identified discrepancies between School Board travel expenditures and division guidelines.
In the management letter provided to City Council in December, the accounting firm wrote, “… during our audit fieldwork tests, we noted certain matters involving the internal control structure and other operational matters that are presented herewith for your consideration.”
The full comment related to School Board travel reads: “During the course of our audit, we noted School Board travel expenditures which did not fall within the school division travel guidelines. We have been engaged to perform a detailed review of School Board travel.”
The comment as it appears in the management letter, which Grossnickle presented to City Council at its December 9 meeting as part of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, is different from what he told the school division’s former finance director, Jennifer Brody, it would be.
“For purposes of the City management letter I have included a comment related to travel, but it is general in nature as a more detailed report will be forthcoming,” Grossnickle wrote in a December 9 email.
The full comment regarding School Board travel that Grossnickle shared with Brody in this email reads: “During the course of our audit, we noted School Board travel expenditures which did not fall within the school board travel guidelines. In addition, we noted instances of the use of purchase cards by individuals other than the authorized user. We recommend that all travel and purchase card policies be followed.”
The language about purchase cards and the recommendation to follow policies does not appear in the final management letter.
Pushback on Proposed Response
Brody replied to Grossnickle with a response to the travel comment, which she explained to Rowe in her December 17 email is customary and expected by the auditor.
“The auditor will expect a response to each of the comments … that [is] neutral and address[es] actions that have been taken to avoid issues in the future,” Brody wrote to Rowe.
Brody sent the following response to the travel comment to Grossnickle: “In December, FCPS School Board members held a norms and protocols meeting to discuss expectations of School Board members. Also, new approval processes for purchase cards and accounts payable invoices for School Board transactions have been implemented as a responsibility of a new fulltime School Board clerk position. More management comments will be forthcoming after the results of the School Board travel special engagement are known.”
Less than an hour later, Brody wrote to Grossnickle again, asking him to disregard the comment she sent.
“One School Board member is pushing back on my response regarding School Board travel,” Brody wrote. “Please send the results of the School Board travel engagement directly to Dr. Catlett when they are ready. She will take responsibility for submitting the management comment.”
In her December 17 email to Rowe, Brody wrote that she had received “a negative response from [School Board member Malvina Kay] about the wording of the travel comment and a request from [Catlett] that a more detailed response be submitted that explains leadership actions that were taken during the time of the travel.”
The Advance asked Kay about her concerns with the wording of the travel comment and did not receive a response.
The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, including the comment related to School Board travel, was transmitted to the School Board at its February 9, 2026, meeting.
Prior to placing the item on the agenda for the meeting, Chris Sorensen, serving as the interim chief financial officer, emailed Catlett.
“This will be in Board Docs describing the audit agenda item. I felt like I had to document the management comments but tried to be brief. Are you OK with this?” Sorensen asked.
He included the following draft statement: “The City of Fredericksburg’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) has been included with this agenda item. The FCPS is a component unit of the City of Fredericksburg per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and is therefore included in its audited financial statements. There were two management letter comments. One was in reference to not advertising [a] budget public hearing and one was in reference to travel internal controls. Both comments are being addressed by management.”
This statement appears with no changes in the agenda for the February 9, 2026, meeting.
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