Board Shares Independent Audit Findings

FCPS Continues Commitment to Financial Transparency and Next Steps for Ongoing Improvement

Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) has released a summary of the independent audit findings from external accounting and advisory firm Weaver, L.L.P. The details directly align with the original Request for Proposals (RFP) scope established by the Fayette County Board of Education based on the recommendations of the independent financial experts who serve on  its Audit Committee. 

The audit was conducted December 2025 through July 2026. The scope approved for the external firm focused on three primary areas: 

• Budget Process Review: to document the full operational structure, analyze the $16 million shortfall, and assess the timeliness of budget-to-actual monitoring and corrective actions
• Travel & Event Expense Review: to examine senior leadership's spending over three fiscal years to ensure proper controls, compliance, and transparency
• Data-Driven Risk & Variance Analysis: to perform a comprehensive analytical risk assessment across all major budget categories to inform the necessity of a forensic engagement

“The board commissioned this audit to get a full picture of how our district's financial controls broke down,” said Chairman Tyler Murphy. “For years, the board did not have the information it needed to catch these problems early, and internal checks were bypassed.”

Weaver's report identified specific concerns, which crossed the three primary areas the board asked them to review. In its report, Weaver identified several recurring themes such as documentation, policies, internal controls, monitoring, and accuracy. 

These findings align with many of the issues Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch and her team have identified over the past several months. Koch and other district leaders have shared those concerns publicly and been forthright about steps being taken to address them.

“Weaver’s findings validate the urgent work we have already put into motion across our finance department.” Koch said. “Over the past several months, our team has identified and addressed a number of core operational needs that are highlighted in this report, and we are already deep in the process of updating long-overdue policies. We have made it a point to share this progress at every board meeting and media briefing. We will continue to be honest and clear with our community about where our district stands, remaining intentional with every action we take to ensure the long-term stability of Fayette County Public Schools.”

Budget Process Review

The Weaver “Budget Process Review” identified significant internal control gaps, policy deficits, and concentration of authority within the district budgeting and financial system. This includes, but is not limited to the following: 

• The workflow for budget transfers was bypassed, allowing users to enter and self-post budget entries without required secondary approvals. 
• Budget amendment requests were processed without documented spending reviews, clear justification, or consistent approval levels, including failure to properly involve the school board. 
• Formalized forecasting methodologies and predictive analytics were not used in developing the budget, and information shared with the board did not allow for appropriate spending and budgeting comparisons.. The board was not informed of historical actual comparisons, which were repeatedly ignored by staff during budget planning. 

Travel & Event Expense Review

Weaver’s “Travel & Event Expense Review” revealed non-compliance, missing documentation, and outdated policies, including but not limited to the following: 

• Travel procedures have not been updated since 2013. 
• Travel reimbursements revealed documentation gaps, including lack of an approved pre-travel Professional Leave forms, and reimbursement files were missing required Employee Reimbursement Checklists. 
• Persistent administrative delays and documentation gaps, including files consistently failing to be uploaded to MUNIS by the required deadline. 

Data-Driven Risk & Variance Analysis

A “Data-Driven Risk & Variance Analysis” revealed entry errors, incorrect object coding, and incomplete information, including but not limited to the following: 

• The FY2025 ending General Fund balance dropped below the statutory 2% state minimum requirement and FCPS internal 6% procedure threshold. 
• Samples of P-Card contained object codes that did not match purchase statement codes or were altered without explanation. 
• Major budget reallocations were omitted from initial budget documents shared with the board and the public. 

FCPS leaders said the findings and suggested improvements will guide immediate and future changes in financial governance, internal controls, and operational workflows.

“As acting superintendent, I fully accept the details and actionable feedback outlined in the Weaver audit report,” said Acting Superintendent Bill Bradford. “These challenges will be directly addressed as we continue to rebuild the spirit, pride, and foundation of Team FCPS. I want to thank the Board of Education for authorizing this audit so that our team can have the vital information we need to take short- and long-term action on these priorities.”

FCPS is providing the presentation in full as received from Weaver on Aug. 3, 2026:

View the Audit Presentation to the Board

“Rebuilding trust and ensuring financial accountability require transparency, and these findings give us a clear, honest baseline of past control gaps,” Bradford said. “We are focused on establishing stronger internal controls, executing an effective corrective action plan, and maintaining operational stability.”

There is no additional information to provide at this time. Once the full report is received, members of the Fayette County Board of Education and district staff will need adequate time to review the findings thoroughly and ask clarifying questions before taking further action or addressing questions. 

“Now that we have this picture, we will not consider this finished until every corrective step is in place and made public,” Murphy said. We are committed to working with district staff to develop and implement a full corrective action plan and timeline with regular public status reports.”

This audit and review is another crucial step for the district in its commitment  to strengthen and improve decades-long budget and finance issues. In the weeks to come, we will focus our attention, communication, and media responses on current operations, transparency of official reports and audits, financial accountability action, and next steps for our district’s future. Some of those steps include, but are not limited to the following:

• Dedicated time for all board members to review findings, ask questions, and receive responses 
• Review and feedback by established board committees (Board Finance & Accountability Committee and Audit Committee)
• Continued communication to staff, families, and the community 
• Development of a detailed corrective action plan to be presented to the board and shared publicly with our community 

Most importantly, our focus will continue to be exactly where it belongs: supporting our students, uplifting our educators, and maintaining the extraordinary student successes that define Fayette County Public Schools.