KY lawmaker, FCPS employee reported ‘threat’ before superintendent’s leave

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 13, to include that the law firm included in an email as advising Liggins said they did not write the email in question.

The attorney for a Kentucky lawmaker who is also an employee of Fayette County Public Schools says FCPS Superintendent Demetrus Liggins recently threatened the lawmaker with legal action “relating to her public criticism of his leadership.”

Rep. Adrielle Camuel, a Democrat from Lexington and an FCPS administrative assistant, reported the threat to lawyers for the district on June 5, Camuel’s lawyer, Hannah Wilson, told the Herald-Leader on Saturday.

Liggins was captured on video last month slipping a piece of paper under the door to Camuel’s office at district headquarters, according to a copy of the video obtained Saturday by WKYT.

The piece of paper purported to be an email with advice from lawyer Heather Gatnarek, with the firm Kaplan, Johnson Abate and Bird. The email claimed the firm had met with Liggins and, without naming Camuel, advised the superintendent that criticism of his leadership was defamatory.

“Rep. Camuel received an email containing what was clearly a threat and attempt to silence her from making public comments about Liggins’ contributions to the mismanagement of District financial resources,” Wilson said Saturday.

The Herald-Leader obtained a copy of the purported email, which was dated May 19.

But the firm told the Herald-Leader on Saturday that the firm did not send the email.

“Heather Gatnarek did not author the email included in the article. Nor did any attorney at her firm, which has never represented or offered any advice to Dr. Liggins,”

Days after Camuel filed her complaint, Liggins informed the board of the embattled school district he wanted to pursue a separation agreement that included a year of financial compensation. He later said the board incorrectly called his request a resignation, and he sought to rescind his request to discuss a separation agreement.

Instead, on Wednesday, June 10, the board placed him on paid leave pending a resolution of information the board had “received this week.”

Liggins’ lawyer, C. Ed Massey, who does not work for Kaplan, Johnson Abate and Bird, told the Herald-Leader on Saturday he was aware of the complaint and had broached the subject with Liggins “who has denied the accuracy of that.”

Massey said Saturday he had not seen the video, but his understanding was that, “You can not determine from the video what is being slipped under the door.”

Massey said he didn’t know who wrote the email but “continue to search for the truth.”

“We have nothing to hide,” Massey said. “The board is doing a good thing by taking a pause and looking into this. They should. It’s a heated situation. If there is a personal allegation between a third party and Dr. Liggins, then they certainly have a forum where they can bring it to the attention of a court, and it can be disputed,” Massey said.

Massey said he did not want employment discussions between Liggins “entwined” with Camuel’s complaint. The board hired the Van Antwerp law firm to conduct a review of Liggins’ employment.

Liggins’ administrative leave and Camuel’s accusations are the latest installment in a more than yearlong saga that began with widespread financial trouble in the district.

The district had discussed a possible significant budget deficit last year, and investigations revealed Liggins and his staff failed to properly deal with budgeting issues. Liggins sought an increase to the district’s occupational tax to cover the shortfall, but Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman quickly deemed the effort unlawful.

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. FCPS cut 120 jobs as a result, leading to Camuel’s criticism.

School board chair Tyler Murphy said Saturday night the district would not comment on Liggins’ employment status.

“Our priority is stability for our district and keeping the focus on our students,” Murphy said in a statement.

The email

The piece of paper Liggins allegedly slipped under Camuel’s door claimed to be from a Louisville-based lawyer. But the email address is invalid, and Wilson said she was unable to confirm the email’s authenticity.

She had suspicions it was a fake.

“Just knowing how attorneys write, something immediately seemed off about the way it was drafted,” Wilson said. “Then we noticed that the email address was different than the email address listed on the law firm website for that attorney.”

The email claimed the law firm had been hired to investigate criticism of Liggins’ leadership and found multiple examples of defamation.

“Quite frankly, the more we have looked into this, we have been disgusted by some of the rhetoric, behavior and obvious defamatory conduct that has surfaced, including knowingly false accusations, reckless amplification of rumors, targeted harassment and coordinated public attacks designed to inflict personal and professional harm,” the email reads. “Individuals who have published, reposted, amplified, encouraged, or otherwise participated in spreading demonstrably false statements should fully expect to receive formal legal notice regarding preservation of evidence and potential liability exposure.”

Camuel’s criticism of FCPS

Camuel has been critical of the district and, including in a previous WKYT article.

In an April 30 statement, after Liggins announced 120 positions would be cut, Camuel told the TV station:

“What is happening in FCPS is nothing short of devastating. The weight of it is crushing hundreds of lives in real time. Dedicated public servants, some of whom have given nearly two decades of their lives to serving Lexington’s children, are being shown the door through no fault of their own. They are now facing one of the tightest job markets in recent memory as direct casualties of gross financial mismanagement involving tens of millions of taxpayer dollars entrusted to this district.

“These are not statistics. These are people we know. People who have spent years serving this community.

They are losing paychecks, health insurance, retirement security, and the ability to keep up with rent, groceries, car payments, and student loans in an economy that is already pushing working families to the breaking point. They are also losing something harder to measure: the chance to continue serving the students and families they dedicated their careers to.

As a legislator, I believe accountability must be demanded for the failures that brought the district to this point. The public deserves clear answers about how this happened. But as an FCPS employee, I also carry something more personal as I live through this crisis alongside my colleagues: grief. For my colleagues. For our students. For a community that deserves so much better than this.”

The teacher’s union KY 120 AFT issued a statement Saturday night that read, “We are disgusted by how our union sister, colleague, friend, and State Representative, Adrielle Camuel, has been treated by district administration.

“These things never happen in a vacuum. People knew, and either participated, or looked away. What a shameful, shameful way to earn a check. Board Chair Murphy and Vice Chair Green should resign. Today.”

Camuel’s lawyer said she was “beginning conversations with the board about what a potential resolution might look like.”

This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 7:17 PM.