But the idea, known as Project Frontier, already has come under the scrutiny of the assembly’s watchdog agency, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, and has drawn fire from the longest-serving member of the VRS board, Edwin T. Burton III, who cast the sole vote against the proposal. Burton, an economics professor at the University of Virginia who has served on the board 18 of the past 20 years, said last week that he is adamantly opposed to giving VRS’ investment staff free rein to potentially compete with private money management companies.