Fayette school board member, citing ‘appearance of impropriety,’ to avoid roadshows

Fayette County Public school board member Amanda Ferguson told the Herald-Leader Sunday she won’t appear at new community events for board members dubbed by district leaders as “roadshows.”

The events that begin Monday include informal meet-and-greet and Q&A sessions, according to an Oct. 11 district news release.

The roadshows will each include a student performance check-in, welcome from a school or district administrator, an overview of the new Fayette County Public Schools Safety Tracker, highlights of the recently released Kentucky accountability scores and conversations with board members.

Ferguson said the events promote current school board members who are running to keep their seat.

“Because of my apprehension about their true intent, and the appearance of impropriety surrounding these meet-and-greets, I have chosen not to participate,” Ferguson said.

Before talking to the Herald-Leader about the issue, she said she posted the same message on the social media platform Facebook because people were asking why she wasn’t on the final roadshow schedule.

“This failure to include me in the planning of the events and the reality that I am generally not a fan of prepackaged talking points were enough to give me pause,” she said.

“But the greatest concern I have with these board member roadshows is the fact that they have never been done before and are suddenly manufactured in the midst of the campaign season when two current board members are on the ballot and have serious challengers.”

Ferguson added: “The optics of the Fayette County Public Schools promoting candidates in an appearance at one of our high schools are not good, and it is no surprise that the two board members up for re-election will appear together at the first roadshow a mere two weeks before Election Day.”

Amy Green is running for re-election in the 5th District. Marilyn Clark is running to keep her seat in District 1.

On Sept. 5, Ferguson said, school board members received an email from Superintendent Demetrus Liggins informing them of a new initiative to offer public forums – board member roadshows. They were told that district staff would provide the format, event logistics and a “presentation overview” to share with members of the community in attendance, she said.

As a whole, the board had never been asked for any input prior to this announcement, Ferguson said.

“I responded to the superintendent by email and asked who had come up with the idea. I was told it was ‘the outcome of brainstorming sessions with several staff members and teams,” she said. Ferguson shared that email with the Herald-Leader Monday.

“I do not know if any other board members were part of those discussions, but I was not. I was never asked at which school(s) I would want to appear or with which other board member(s) I would like to share a platform,” she said.

Ferguson said this fall, the district legal office sent an email to all district employees with stern warnings against their participation in school board campaigns. “Ironically, that same day the roadshows email was sent to the board, in which the superintendent and his administration appeared to support these two candidates. The presence of ‘likes’ on posts from the social media pages of these campaigns by official FCPS accounts also supports this perception of endorsement,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said another email was sent to all staff inviting them to attend one of the three roadshows even though numerous staff have told her in the past that they have been told not to speak to board members.

“All of this is problematic,” she said.

Liggins’ response

In response, Liggins said Monday, “As part of the ongoing goals and priorities between the superintendent and the board, improved communication and transparency have consistently been a focus.”

“Ample opportunities have been provided for board members to offer input, including explicit requests for feedback on multiple occasions. Most board members have taken the opportunity to contribute valuable insights that have strengthened our efforts,” he added.

“However, the first time I became aware of any specific concerns from Amanda Ferguson was through her statement to a news reporter.”

“Despite having multiple opportunities to share her thoughts directly, she chose not to contribute to the superintendent’s appraisal and board self-evaluation process or provide input in other district-related conversations,” he said.

Road shows schedule

The district news release about the road shows said all the sessions are open to the public regardless of residential area, running from 6-8 p.m. in the respective high school’s auditorium:

▪ Monday, Oct. 21, at Lafayette with board Vice Chair Amy Green and board member Marilyn Clark.

▪ Thursday, Oct. 24, at Bryan Station with board Chair Tyler Murphy and board member Jason Moore

▪ Friday, Oct. 25, at Tates Creek with board Vice Chair Amy Green

This story was originally published October 21, 2024 at 11:01 AM.