Fayette County Public Schools superintendent Tom Shelton is calling accusations of financial mismanagement completely untrue.
According to emails obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader, FCPS budget director Julane Mullins sent information about what she called a $20 million dollar "irregularity" in the budget to state auditor Adam Edelen and the director of the state Office of Education Accountability.
In an email to school board members, she says she felt compelled to shed light on “suspected violations of law and numerous acts of mismanagement, fraud, waste, and abuse of authority that have resulted in the current state of affairs.”
Superintendent Shelton denied the accusations completely at a hastily-assembled press conference Tuesday.
"I am astounded by the allegations that have been made by one of our employees. The allegations in the memo are untrue. [They are] mischaracterizations of very routine accounting procedures," he told reporters.
Shelton is calling on the state auditor and OEA to report on the district's finances. He also promises to produce a detailed outline of the accounting procedures called into question by Mullins during the school boards next meeting tomorrow.
Mullins has served as budget director for 10 years. In her email to the auditor, she expresses fears of retribution for coming forward with the allegations. For now, Shelton says no changes have been made in the budget office and Mullins remains in the position.
