State audit of Fayette County Schools to be completed by the end of 2026

A special examination of Fayette County Public Schools by the state is expected to be completed at the end of 2026, the state auditor’s office said this week.

Kentucky State Auditor Allison Ball has completed a special examination of the Kentucky Department of Education, and is currently conducting an examination of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville. The audit of Fayette County Schools is being conducted after concerns were raised over the district’s $16 million budget shortfall and the recent move to increase local taxes, the auditor’s office previously said.

The examination of the state’s education department was required under House Bill 825, passed by the 2024 General Assembly. The last budget bill, House Bill 6 in 2024, provided an appropriation to complete the Jefferson County audit.

“We are currently conducting the JCPS audit, which will conclude in the summer of 2026. We plan to have the FCPS audit completed by the end of 2026,” said Joy Markland, spokesperson for the state auditor’s office.

Ball said her office worked with PCG Consulting Group, which she described as one of the nation’s preeminent education auditing entities, to examine the state education department’s activities from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2024.

Markland said the auditor’s office has not determined if it will engage an outside entity for the Fayette County Public Schools’ special examination.

“Several factors play into that decision, including what we find as we begin the audit,” she said.

“At this time, we have no comment on this matter,” Fayette district spokesperson Miranda Scully said Thursday.

In Fayette County, the school board attempted to increase the occupational license tax rate for schools earlier this year to address the budget shortfall, a move which Republican Attorney General Russell Coleman said was unlawful.

According to Coleman’s opinion, proper notice was not given and a public hearing was not held when school board chair Tyler Murphy, vice-chair Amy Green and board member Penny Christian asked the fiscal court to increase the tax rate from 0.5% to 0.75%.

Murphy later suggested to the superintendent and board that they “pause” raising the occupational license tax for schools. The Fayette County school board agreed and canceled a June 23 public hearing and vote on increasing the tax.

The district has since convened a budget work group with three meetings, including meetings at 5:30 p.m. on July 15 and July 29, at The Hub for Innovative Learning and Leadership (The Hill) at 100 Midland Avenue.

Superintendent Demetrus Liggins has since said that he wished the district had handled the timing of the tax increase proposal differently, taking additional steps to communicate earlier and more directly.

This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 9:11 AM.