Why Are So Many Small Town Virginia School Districts Under Investigation?

Large Virginia school districts like Loudoun and Fairfax public schools aren’t the only ones in trouble—they’re just the ones making the headlines.

School superintendents in Essex and Northumberland Counties were recently removed as state police conduct investigations. Plus, the Essex School Board Chair, Garlyn Bundy, stepped down amidst a police investigation and accusations of defamation.

Essex County Schools Investigation

Reports indicate potential financial mismanagement by Essex schools. In 2022–23, the reported special education program expenditure amount was different than what was reported to the state. That left the small division of Essex, a small county in eastern Virginia on the Rappahannock River, owing over $450,000, a large chunk of their $20 million budget.

Earlier this year, accounting director Elizabeth Franklin was removed by the school board.  The board also put Superintendent Dr. Harry Thomas III on administrative leave; he ultimately retired from the position. In a letter to the community, Thomas acknowledged a “litany of mistakes, miscues, and missteps along the way. . ..” The Rappahannock Times further reported financial issues related to salary payments and retirement benefits currently under investigation.

Drama seeped into an Essex school board meeting in June when Garlyn Bundy, who was scheduled to step down from her position as board chair, instead pointing fingers at others and refusing to step aside. She is accused of making defamatory statements against acting Superintendent Doranda Scott during that meeting.

Afterward, a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Bundy by Scott’s attorneys. According to the letter, Bundy had agreed to step down from her role as chair “in light of allegations concerning financial improprieties and other acts by her.” Essex school board meetings rarely have an audience, but Scott’s attorney alleges that Bundy solicited public attendance at the meeting when she read her statement accusing Scott of misconduct.

Ultimately, Bundy did resign as chair but remains on the board. She is running for reelection this November.

Scott’s attorney demanded Bundy issue a public retraction of her comments at the next school board meeting, but that didn’t happen. Restoration News reached out to Bundy for comment and her attorney responded that Ms. Bundy “has not been charged or implicated by any law enforcement officials for any impropriety.”

Scott also alleges a local parent, Dr. Gene Quarles, actually wrote the comments Bundy read at the meeting. Scott’s attorney obtained the Microsoft Word document Bundy read at the meeting and the digital footprint showed Quarles as the author.

Dr. Quarles has a checkered past. He has a school district-issued “stay off property” order barring him from all school division property for alleged aggressive behavior toward school staff. In 2022, he was arrested in King and Queen County for impersonating a law enforcement officer and has served prison time for accepting bribes as a U.S. Postal Service employee.

Documents show Bundy, without approval from the school board, asked the interim superintendent to rescind the order against Quarles, claiming the latter had shown his “commitment to working positively with the school.”

Restoration News reached out to the newly elected School Board Chair Scott Croxton, who said:

I’m proud to say that a majority of the Essex County School Board began to agree earlier this year that major changes were required to correct the financial irregularities observed over the past few years, our underlying budget math and assumptions have never added up, we ended multiple school years with excessively high end of year surpluses while being told there would be none. With tremendous assistance from the Essex County Board of Supervisors we immediately initiated a Virginia State Police investigation necessitating a forensic audit that is ongoing to restore the public’s trust in our finances. Further, we have centralized our financial services under the direction of our county for improved fiscal oversight and stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Restoration News reach out to Virginia State Police, who confirmed there is an ongoing investigation.

Northumberland County Schools Investigation

Just 30 miles across the river from Essex County is another small school district, Northumberland County, with just over 1,100 students. In April, both the Northumberland school board and board of supervisors voted to place the superintendent, Dr. Holly Wargo, on administrative leave pending a state police investigation.

An audit revealed district spending exceeded administrative authority since 2016 and the administration could not provide documentation to justify expenditures. School administration also told the county they couldn’t fulfill payroll expenditures and a $54,000 IRS tax lien was filed against the division. The 2023–24 budget was overspent by $800,000 out of a total budget of $21 million.

In a bizarre episode, after she was placed on leave superintendent Wargo called into the public comment time during a board of supervisors special meeting for hearing concerns about the school board and superintendent. Wargo, who was distraught and crying, said her father had died a month earlier and accused the board of mishandling the situation.

Wargo, appointed as Superintendent in 2016, was terminated in a 3–2 vote by the school board on May 8, 2025.

It’s the role of school boards to provide fiduciary oversight and budget approval for all district spending. Often, board members are elected who have no financial management experience. Fortunately, Essex and Northumberland have board members who began to ask important questions when they were elected.

The new Essex School Board Chair is Scott Croxton, currently in his first term on the board. Croxton is a retired military officer with decades of leadership and budget management experience.

In 2024, David Curran was elected in Northumberland County. His prior experience in law enforcement and school administration gave Curran the ability to ask questions and conduct proper oversight and discover the financial mismanagement.

It’s imperative, even in small school districts, to be informed about who is on the ballot for school board. Choose wisely because these board members not only control the curriculum taught to children, but they also spend your hard-earned tax dollars.

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