FCPS lobbyist terminates contract, alleging ‘monetary and reputational damage’

A lobbyist for Fayette County Public Schools has terminated her contract with the district after she says her firm suffered “significant damage due to the district’s shifting information on its budget status.”

Abby Piper, founder and managing partner of Piper-Smith, a Lexington-based lobbying and public relations firm, sent FCPS Superintendent Demetrus Liggins and Board Chairman Tyler Murphy a letter Oct. 24 informing them she was terminating the contract, effective at the end of the year.

The Lexington-based lobbyist posted the letter Thursday on her firm’s Facebook page.

“In more than one case, we have been armed with information for legislators that has later been proven inaccurate, which has harmed our relationships with the legislature that we have spent years cultivating,” Piper wrote in the letter. “At this time, the monetary and reputational damage to our company as a result of actions by the administration and board of education mean we can no longer represent the Fayette County Public Schools.”

Under a three-year contract signed in August 2023, FCPS paid Piper-Smith $60,000 per year to lobby Kentucky state government on behalf of the district, according to records the Herald-Leader obtained through the Kentucky Open Records Act.

The firm’s duties expanded in May when, with Liggins’ approval, it won a second contract to defend the superintendent’s reputation and push a proposed 50% increase in the school district’s occupational license tax. More tax revenue was needed to cover a multi-million-dollar shortfall in the district budget, Liggins said.

The attempt to push through the tax increase was quickly deemed unlawful by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, and the district has revealed additional budget problems since then. Though its final approved budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 eliminated the projected shortfall, the district’s contingency, or rainy day fund, has dwindled significantly.

Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball has launched a special examination of the district’s finances, and several Republican lawmakers have called on Liggins and Murphy to resign.

“Fayette County Public Schools wishes Piper-Smith continued success in the future. We thank Abby Piper for her collaboration and hard work supporting our district,” FCPS Chief of Staff Tracy Bruno said Friday.

Piper did not immediately respond Friday to a request for additional comment.

In the letter to district officials, Piper said the firm has lost clients and suffered reputational damage that totals tens of thousands of dollars.

“Our firm has sustained significant damage due to the district’s shifting information on its budget status. We have lost clientele who told us the reputational damage we sustained was the reason for terminating their work with us to the tune of more than $70,000,” the letter said. “We have experienced an additional $10,000+ in damage to our company through negative publicity, that we know of.”

In a separate Facebook post Thursday, Piper noted that the firm was making the termination effective Dec. 31 to give the district time to hire new representation ahead of the 2026 legislative session.

“While we appreciate the opportunity to serve the wonderful faculty, students, and families that make up Fayette County Public Schools, the move was necessitated by the district’s repeated struggles to provide accurate information to our firm, the press, and the general public, making it difficult for us to provide them with the level of counsel we strive to provide all our clients,” she wrote.

Piper said her firm stands by the work they did for FCPS and what they were able to accomplish for them in Frankfort advocating for the students, teachers, and parents of the district.

“While we wish more of our advice was put into action, we did what we could to guide the district in the right direction,” she said. “We hope, as we have urged them for the duration of our contract, they will work to provide Fayette County taxpayers with greater transparency and accurate data so the public has a greater understanding of both the great work being done by FCPS staff as well as the challenges they are facing,” Piper wrote.