FCPS budget director returns to work after administrative leave

Fayette County Public Schools Budget Director Ann Sampson-Grimes returned to work Thursday after being placed on administrative leave last month, her lawyer said.

“We received a letter that her leave was stopped, effective immediately. She was back to work today,” Sampson-Grimes’ attorney, Brandon Voelker, said Thursday night.

Voelker said Sampson-Grimes is working remotely and was given no reason for the initial punishment.

Sampson-Grimes was put on administrative leave Aug. 15 by Superintendent Demetrus Liggins, and she filed a lawsuit Sept. 10 claiming the move was discrimination and retaliation after she repeatedly warned of budget problems in the district.

Voelker said Sampson-Grimes is not planning to drop the lawsuit.

The school board has hired an independent investigator to dig into Sampson-Grimes’ claims.

Fayette schools spokesperson Miranda Scully also confirmed Thursday that Sampson-Grimes was no longer on leave.

In an Aug. 27 letter to Liggins and school board chair Tyler Murphy, Voelker said Liggins retaliated against Sampson-Grimes by placing her on leave after she repeatedly warned district officials of the need for budget cuts in the financially challenged district. Voelker has painted his client as a “scapegoat” for the district’s budget woes.

Voelker’s letter to Murphy said that each time Sampson-Grimes advised that budget cuts must be enforced, her peers and superiors pushed back on her suggestions. They claimed she was incorrect, or they ignored her advice, Voelker said.

Sampson-Grimes’ lawsuit accused the superintendent of “gross intentional conduct meant to punish” her and preventing her from “lawfully reporting potential mismanagement and/or waste of FCPS funds.”

The budget director’s suspension came as the district has faced a budget crisis in recent months, punctuated by a projected shortfall and a dwindling contingency fund.

Sampson-Grimes, a former branch manager at the Kentucky Department of Education and former chief financial officer at Anderson County Public Schools, was hired by Fayette County Public Schools in 2020.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 8:47 PM.