Legal expert says effort to remove FCPS board chair likely unconstitutional

Fayette school board chair Tyler Murphy contends it is unconstitutional for Kentucky lawmakers to remove him from office, and a Kentucky law expert says Murphy is probably right.

Republican state Rep. Matt Lockett filed a petition to remove Murphy in January, but Murphy’s response to the removal attempt, filed by his lawyers last month, argues the effort to take him out of office would “usurp the will of voters in Fayette County.”

Murphy wants the petition dismissed, but after assessing the response, Kentucky’s House impeachment committee has decided to continue considering removal.

Ken Katkin, professor of law at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law, told the Herald-Leader there is strong reason to believe a local school board member can’t be removed by the state legislature.

“Although the question is close and raises many issues, Mr. Murphy is probably correct,” said Katkin, who regularly analyzes current legal issues.

Katkin said no local school board member in Kentucky ever has been removed by the state legislature. When other local officials have been removed from office in recent years, the removal proceedings have been initiated and conducted by the local city councils, not by the state legislature, Katkin said.

The impeachment of London Mayor Randall Weddle is one example, as city council initiated his removal last year, though he was later reinstated. Falmouth Mayor Sebastian Ernst was also removed from office by the local city council, according to local media reports.

In 2024, the Kentucky Legislature enacted a procedure for removing local school board officials which says the attorney general can sue to remove the official. Under that procedure, the attorney general must prove in court that the school board member committed acts of malfeasance in order for the official to be removed from their seat. It’s a legal proceeding, not a political proceeding, Katkin said.

He said there is no state law that makes a school board member subject to removal.

After the petition to remove him was filed by Lockett, lawyers for Murphy provided a 30-page response that was made public in late February. Murphy’s lawyers say the petition should be dismissed by the Kentucky House committee considering the petition.

‘The case raises a technical question’

Kentucky law provides two mechanisms for addressing official misconduct: a petition for impeachment and a petition for “removal by address.” They are different in name, but both types must be referred to the House impeachment committee for review.

“The case raises a technical question about whether Mr. Murphy can be removed through a process called ‘removal by address,’” said Katkin.

But removing an official “by address,” which Lockett is trying to do, follows the same process as removing an official “by impeachment,” Katkin said.

After receiving a petition for removal — or impeachment — the impeachment committee can make a recommendation to remove the official, according to committee rules. If they do, the removal would be sent to the state House for a vote. If the House reached a majority vote to remove, the Senate would take up the same vote, but would need a two-thirds majority for the removal to happen.

Murphy’s lawyers argue removal by address, the one Lockett’s petition seeks to use, is no longer applicable in Kentucky.

Katkin said Murphy is not subject to impeachment through the state committee either.

Lockett filed the petition Jan. 30, arguing that Murphy violated state law by failing to provide adequate oversight of Fayette County Public Schools, which has faced significant financial trouble over the past year. Both Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly have criticized Murphy and Superintendent Demetrus Liggins for their handling of the district’s budget problems.

Lockett has said he will not comment on the removal filing until the case is resolved.

Laura Leigh Goins, a spokesperson for House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said Wednesday, “I can confirm that the petition is still under consideration by the impeachment committee. We don’t comment on the work before the impeachment committee.”

This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.