FCPS delaying release of updated figures that show extent of budget problems

Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins and school board members say they know more about the extent of the district’s budget problems, having received updated amounts for the budget fund balance.

But when Liggins, school board chairman Tyler Murphy, and school board vice chair Amy Green issued a statement Wednesday morning saying they had “received updated carry forward amounts for (fiscal year) 2026,” they did not include the amount.

Amid a budget crisis, officials have called a special virtual meeting for 5:30 p.m. Thursday for a public school board discussion on the updated information.

School district officials would not say Wednesday afternoon why they were waiting a day to share the fund balance with the public. Liggins told the Herald-Leader in an interview earlier this month that he needed to be a better communicator.

However, on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Liggins and district officials did not respond to Herald-Leader questions about the amount of the fund balance. Board members Penny Christian, Monica Mundy and Amanda Ferguson also had not responded to questions about the amount from the Herald-Leader by 1 p.m.

On her school board Facebook page, Mundy talked about the upcoming Thursday budget information meeting. “Yesterday afternoon, the Superintendent shared a brief update with me via phone on the budget. I look forward to learning more tomorrow,” she said.

And in answer to a commenters question about the the actual dollar amount of the fund balance, Mundy replied, “I was verbally told an amount yesterday. I am assuming that will be shared tomorrow.”

The contingency fund’s balance and related information are public records under Kentucky law and should be released promptly, said Richard Green, the Herald-Leader’s executive editor.

“Our readers and plenty of taxpayers in Lexington and Fayette County are clamoring for more information about the financial state of our school system and their tax dollars. Once again, district officials are delaying the release of timely and highly relevant information,” Green said.

“I fail to understand the promise to communicate better, but repeatedly deny the timely release of information that Kentucky law says should be made public. We are consulting with our lawyers about a potential course of action the Herald-Leader may take.”

Thursday’s meeting will provide an opportunity to review the updated financials, discuss next steps and “affirm the district’s responsibility to protect student-centered investments while strengthening the way in which the process is communicated to our community,” Liggins said in the news release.

“As previously shared and anticipated, (Liggins) and his finance team have received updated carry forward amounts for FY26. Following receipt of the updated figures, the superintendent informed the board, as requested.”

The amount of the budget fund balance has become critically important in recent weeks.

Earlier this month Liggins. revealed the district’s contingency for emergencies and unexpected costs was likely significantly smaller than originally expected. It was estimated to be about $42 million, but may be as low as $15 million to $22 million, he said.

The district’s Budget Solutions Work Group, which includes business, community and University of Kentucky leaders, had recommended using money from the fund balance to solve an estimated $16 million shortfall.

But Liggins had said with the lower amount projected for the fund balance, that is probably not possible.

The planned contingency is a portion of the general fund set aside in the budget specifically for emergencies and unexpected costs. Kentucky law requires at least 2% of the general fund budget be reserved. FCPS board policy is 6%.

The fund balance is the actual audited cash remaining in the general fund at the end of the fiscal year after all revenue and expenses are finalized. It is carried over into the next fiscal year. The contingency is planned, while the fund balance is confirmed.

Some work group members who met over the summer have been upset that school district officials were not as transparent or as timely as they should’ve been about the murky financial problems.

Some also are upset the school board has called a meeting on Sept. 5 that could allow the school board to approve a proposal to increase the occupational license tax rate. Key Lexington business leaders and many residents oppose.

Liggins has largely blamed the district’s current financial problems on inflationary conditions he says are plaguing school districts across the nation. But members of the budget work group said FCPS’ budget was structurally imbalanced.

The recommendation to raise the tax created controversy when the board’s first attempt were deemed unlawful by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman this summer. It was the lowest recommendation on the budget work group’s list.

“We can’t tax our way out of this process. The reality is that the budget is structurally imbalanced,” representatives from UK and Commerce Lexington wrote in an op-ed column earlier this summer.

After he received the amount of the fund balance, the Wednesday news release said, Liggins subsequently met with Board Chair Tyler Murphy and Vice Chair Amy Green, at their request, to further review the information.

He met with them also to “consider how it may inform the administration’s proposals for the working budget next month, including the impact of budget plans that do not include recommendations for adjusting the occupational license tax rate.”

At Thursday’s special meeting, the school board will have “ timely and collaborative board discussion based on this additional information and to ensure the district remains focused on our shared commitment: Supporting a budget that maximizes investments in students and earns the confidence of the community,” Liggins said in the news release.

“As we have engaged with the Superintendent and his team throughout the budget process, we know we share a fundamental but simple bottom line: We are committed to supporting a budget that maximizes investments in our students and can be supported by the community,” Murphy said in the release.

“Public education is a community endeavor, and we must bring the community along in this process in a way that is clear, concise, and makes obvious the connection between the powerful work happening in our classrooms and the important decisions made at the district level.”

At Thursday’s meeting, board members will appear via video-teleconference and the meeting will be streamed online.

The John D. Price Administration Building, 450 Park Place, Room 159 in Lexington is designated as the primary location where the public can watch the virtual meeting.

No votes are expected at the meeting.

This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 2:04 PM.