The Northumberland County Board of Supervisors will be briefed on the 2023-2024 Forensic Audit (PDF) Thursday, January 23 at 5:30 pm at the Northumberland County General District Courtroom (220 Judicial Pl, Heathsville). The audit concerns the county and Northumberland County Public Schools.
The audit and this briefing are both incredibly important.
My plan was to provide a fairly comprehensive response to the supes today. (Well, as comprehensive as possible given the posting date of the audit and the date of the briefing.) But that changed when I realized that the signs and signals have been present for some years and that while the audit provided a framework to understand and group the problems, the fundamental problems have not been addressed for years. Underneath the failure to create and implement internal controls, budget and spending rules, and the like are the failures of leadership, skill and expertise, and accountability.
hSo, I am not going to spend my precious time making well-thought-out recommendations to the supes and school board when it is abundantly clear that they do not have the interest in or stomach to make the tough decisions to improve accountability in Northumberland County. Especially when the supes have routinely cavalierly dismissed such recs in the past.