Reception to honor FCPS’ Liggins for winning Superintendent of the Year canceled

A nonprofit that supports Fayette County schools has canceled a reception to honor district leader Demetrus Liggins for being named Kentucky Superintendent of the Year.

The reception was scheduled for Aug. 18, before the Fayette County School District board meeting, but the nonprofit, the Fayette Education Foundation, said Friday it was canceling the event so the district could “focus on the work before the board that evening.”

The move comes amid significant budget troubles in the district, which faces a $16 million funding shortfall. On Thursday, Liggins said the district’s contingency fund was significantly smaller than originally expected — it was estimated to be about $42 million, but could actually be as low as $15 million to $22 million.

The district sought to increase the occupational license tax rate in Fayette County in a move the Kentucky attorney general described in June as unlawful, and the district is also facing a special examination by the Kentucky auditor.

Liggins acknowledged in an interview this week with the Herald-Leader that the public had seemingly lost trust in his and the district’s handling of the budget.

“I’m committed to working with our community to build back that trust,” Liggins said Thursday. “I know that is something that, for whatever reason, has been lost, and I think a lot of it has to do with communication or lack thereof.”

Liggins received the Superintendent of the Year award in July from the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.

The Fayette Education Foundation is an independent nonprofit exclusively dedicated to serving students and educatiors in the district, said its executive director, Carrie Boling.

“We made the difficult decision to postpone the planned reception so district leaders could focus on the work before the board that evening. We look forward to celebrating Dr. Liggins’ Superintendent of the Year award at a later date,” Boling told the Herald-Leader Friday night. “Our plan is to reschedule.”

Boling said the decision to cancel was a joint one between the foundation and the school district.

Board chairman Tyler Murphy has said the board will discuss the contingency fund at Monday’s school board meeting.

On Friday night, Liggins’ told district parents in a message that he would take several measures to fix Fayette County Schools’ budget problems including launching an internal review.

This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 8:45 PM.