FCPS payroll tax debacle: Definitely illegal and incredibly stupid | Opinion
I was on vacation last week, and while I would never regret a getaway, I am somewhat sorry to have missed the fireworks around Fayette County Public Schools.
The question this newspaper raised —was the payroll tax increase voted on by the Fayette School board even legal? — turned out to have a very clear answer.
Using statute and the common sense obvious to everyone except school officials, Attorney General Russell Coleman concluded any new tax votes need to have proper public notice, not be slipped into a school agenda over a long Memorial Day weekend.
But even this legal humiliation was not enough for school district officials.
No, always willing to make a bad situation worse, School Board Chairman Tyler Murphy penned a condescending, tone-deaf Facebook post that sneered at the very real concerns people had about a tax hike in uncertain financial times.
“We don’t need lectures from those pushing policies that harm working families and children,” he wrote. “Our community rejected voucher schemes at the ballot box, and our community will continue to defend public education from political theatrics designed to distract and divide.”
Can someone please find the district a crisis communications team? This saga has in fact united people from across the county into clear agreement on our lack of confidence in the district’s leadership.
The astounding defeat of school vouchers last year was a huge celebration of public education. But it was not a carte blanche for any school board to sneak through a tax hike that would raise twice as much money as they need to fill a $16 million budget shortfall.
Even if they had the law on their side, which they did not, who thought ramming through a tax hike with the fiscal court would be a good idea? And even with all the outcry, they’ve now decided to do the thing properly, with public notice, which has already appeared in the Herald-Leader, and a public meeting before another vote.
The worst part? Fayette schools are making progress, real progress among all kinds of kids from every part of town.
Go to the early part of a school board meeting and you will be amazed at the kinds of cool things are kids are doing and learning. Then stick around and watch the grown-ups screw it all up.
There is a small but determined and vocal group that since COVID has had it in for Fayette schools, and now the school board has played right into their hands.
If school officials had played by the rules, started discussing the payroll tax openly, tried to build support with the many, many people who love our schools, they could have passed it without this kind of uproar.
Now, on June 23, they will pass it with the same 3-2 vote, and a recall will immediately be in motion. And while Fayette County has always loyally supported tax hikes for schools and loyally defeated any recall efforts, the opponents will have a real shot this time around.
That’s not all.
Fayette’s ham-handed handling of this nonsense has brought the eye of Sauron beaming straight from Frankfort into the John D. Price administration building. The state GOP is still smarting from the Amendment 2 loss, so picking a fight with state leaders who already have public education in their sights is idiotic.
Think things are bad now? Wait until Auditor Allison Ball gets through auditing Fayette school finances.
Then Tyler Murphy will probably write another Facebook page blaming everyone but himself.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 12:51 PM.
