KY auditor will ask state legislature to pay for FCPS special examination

Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball’s office will ask the General Assembly to pay for her special examination of Fayette school’s finances, billed at $84 an hour.

Hannah Wall, spokesperson for Ball, said Tuesday that Kentucky law requires Ball to bill for special examinations, which is set at $84 an hour through a formal process. The rate has not been increased in many years, she said.

“However, we intend to ask the General Assembly to provide an appropriation for the examination in order to ease the financial burden on FCPS,” Wall said. “This is similar to what we did with (Jefferson County Public Schools) last biennium.”

State legislators provided money for the Jefferson County Public Schools special examination, Wall said.

“At this time, we are not estimating how long the (Fayette schools) examination will take. Our goal is to provide a penny-by-penny accounting of FCPS’s expenditures,” Wall said.

Ball’s examination is likely one of a multiple reviews of FCPS finances that will be conducted amid the district’s budget crisis, which has included a $16 million budget shortfall and a dwindling carry-forward balance in the budget that began July 1, 2025.

On Tuesday night, the five-member school board voted unanimously to send the scope of what they want in an external audit to the district’s audit committee. That group is composed of five voting members who are not district employees and who have expertise in finance.

The Fayette school district’s audit committee will look at the scope of the independent examination that board members are seeking, help create a request for proposals and make recommendations on the cost and time frame of the independent examination.

A forensic audit includes digging into records to look for problems and answer questions.

The state special examination

Ball decided to conduct the special investigation after Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced the school board unlawfully tried to raised an occupational tax increase at its May 27, 2025 meeting.

For the fiscal year that began July 1, district officials have been trying to fix a $16 million shortfall and a dwindling contingency.

They say the proposed $827.2 million working budget on the school board’s Sept. 22 agenda will be balanced.

“The Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) has received concerns regarding certain activities in Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) and will be conducting a limited-scope special examination to address these matters,” the state auditor’s office letter to Liggins said.

The objective of our examination will not be to provide an opinion on any financial statements but to “review a specific matter brought to our attention,” said the letter.

As a result, during the limited examination, the office will perform tests and procedures to determine compliance with policies and procedures, laws, regulations, contracts, and agreements.

The initial scope will cover the period of July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025, but may vary depending on available documentation and data.

State law mandates that the state auditor has access to and may examine all “books, accounts, reports, vouchers, correspondence files, records, money and property.”

Ball’s office is also asking for unrestricted access to current and former employees who might have evidence.

Among the many documents that Ball’s office is requesting are policies, school board minutes, the pay classification plan, contracts, Annual Budget and Year-End Budget to Actual reports for each year and banking information.

Ball’s office wants the records by Sept. 26.

This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 4:30 AM.