Who is Bill Bradford, Fayette Schools’ new acting superintendent?

Bill Bradford, the new acting superintendent in the Fayette County School District, began his career as a Spanish teacher at Lafayette High School and, according to school board chair Tyler Murphy, has helped drive academic gains in the school district.

“This is a very special school district to me. This is where I began my career as a teacher in these classrooms.” Bradford, an assistant superintendent, said at a school board meeting Wednesday night.

Bradford has 23 years of education experience, district officials said in a Thursday news release.

The school board on Wednesday voted to place Superintendent Demetrus Liggins on paid leave while a law firm conducts a “review of information regarding (his) employment.”

Liggins informed the board this week that he wanted to pursue a separation agreement and leave his role as the top official in the district. But after the board announced he had sent a resignation notice, he backtracked, saying the email was not a resignation notice, and that he wanted to withdraw his request to discuss a separation agreement and cancel Wednesday’s school board meeting.

The school board went ahead and met, placing Liggins on leave while a board-hired law firm reviews his employment in FCPS Murphy would not say Wednesday what specific information the law firm was reviewing.

Murphy said Wednesday night the board was not considering a separation agreement for Liggins.

The five-member school board said they are united in supporting Bradford, and he is committed to making sure there is no interruption to services in the district.

“He is ready to hit the ground running in this capacity to ensure that student success remains our focus,” said Murphy..

Bradford, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, has led several full-scale organizational projects at the district level and was named assistant superintendent in July 2024. He currently supervises the office of School Leadership & Learning Support, and oversees the departments of Athletics, Grant Partnerships, School-Based Decision Making Councils, and Magnet School Assistance Programs, district officials said in the news release.

“My priority is to ensure that students remain our focus, educators are supported, and that we build on the strengths of FCPS,” Bradford said. “I am confident that my experience and expertise can advance our entire team’s work, unify our community, and expand upon the standard we’ve established in our vision – to provide all students with a world-class education.”

“I look forward to providing the leadership that will be necessary to address uncertainty and provide stability to advance the goals established by the board,” he said.

Bradford graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish language and literature from Transylvania University, where he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in diving. He holds a master’s degree in education from Georgetown College, a master’s degree in instructional leadership from Eastern Kentucky University, and a doctor of education degree in educational leadership from Northern Kentucky University, where he works as an adjunct instructor in the College of Education, supporting the principal preparation program, the news release said.

In the news release Thursday, district officials said after Bradford taught Spanish at Lafayette, he was asked to serve at the district level as a K-12 instructional support specialist. In that role, he worked with feeder patterns of Title I schools but focused specifically on middle schools.

In 2010, Bradford was hired as principal of Sixth District Elementary School in Covington, and three years later became assistant superintendent for the Covington Independent Public Schools. He moved on as principal of River Ridge Elementary in Kenton County in 2015, and subsequently accepted the role of assistant superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the Fort Thomas Independent Schools, a position he held until returning to FCPS in 2022. He served as chief of middle schools here from 2022-24.

According to a 2024 post from Transylvania University, Bradford was a celebrated diver at Transylvania, finishing as a 1999 NAIA national runner-up and going undefeated in conference championships. After graduating, he was Transy’s dive coach for six years.

This is a developing article and may be updated.

This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 8:00 AM.