Fayette County school board put superintendent on leave due to info ‘received this week’
The Fayette County Board of Education placed Superintendent Demetrus Liggins on paid administrative leave “pending review and resolution of information the Board received this week regarding your employment,” according to a June 11 letter from board chair Tyler Murphy to Liggins.
The Herald-Leader obtained the letter Friday under the Kentucky Open Records Act.
Murphy told the Herald-Leader Wednesday that he could not say whether new allegations prompted school board members to place Liggins on leave.
C. Ed Massey, who was listed in the letter as Liggins’ attorney, did not immediately respond to request for comment Friday.
The letter said Liggins’ leave takes immediate effect. While on leave, he can’t speak with anyone affiliated with FCPS about the matter without Murphy’s prior approval. He also can’t access to district email or computer systems. He also isn’t allowed on FCPS property or at FCPS sponsored events unless he gets prior approval, according to the letter.
“This administrative leave is necessary to prevent significant disruption of the workplace and educational process,” the letter said.
Liggins was hired in 2021 by the school board, led by Murphy, to replace Superintendent Manny Caulk who died after an illness in 2020.
The Thursday letter from Murphy to Liggins was preceded by confusion over whether Liggins was going to resign.
Emails released by the school district showed Liggins emailed Murphy Tuesday morning to say he wanted to leave the job but wanted to negotiate a separation agreement first. Murphy took that as a resignation notice, according to the emails, and the school board notified the public that Liggins was resigning.
However, Liggins wrote Murphy back Tuesday night to say he was not resigning, and he wanted to withdraw his request for a separation agreement. In his initial email, Liggins asked for a year of compensation and benefits if he quits.
FCPS has had to publicly deal with financial issues for more than a year now. Last year, the district said it had a significant budget deficit, and investigations revealed that both Liggins and some of his staff failed to prevent or properly deal with the budgeting plight. More recently, FCPS discovered its finances have been misstated since at least 2008, and some revenue has been grossly overstated, leaving the district in worse financial shape than previously thought. In the wake of that discovery, FCPS cut 120 jobs.
After Liggins notified Murphy that he wanted to discuss a separation agreement, Murphy and the school board held a special meeting Wednesday to discuss the superintendent’s employment.
The board voted unanimously to put Liggins on paid administrative leave, hire a law firm to review his employment, and name an acting superintendent.
Gov. Andy Beshear, a graduate of FCPS, and the teacher’s union Fayette County Education Association are among those who say Liggins should not get a buyout.
Murphy has also said the board was not interested in a separation agreement for Liggins.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 4:40 PM.