Attorney General Russell Coleman disapproved of the tax vote on the grounds that it took place without sufficient public notice. While the opinion doesn't carry the force of a judge's ruling and the school board has said its vote to increase its occupational license tax was in line with state statutes, school leaders are hitting the undo button.
"They're going to vote on the tax again just like they did a few weeks ago," CivicLex's Adrian Bryant says. "The difference being that by that point, they will have had a public hearing that has been advertised well in advance. I expect they will pass it again, although things change and maybe they won't because of the public hurrah that's kind of been happening over the last couple weeks."
Bryant says the public comment opportunity will take place at 5:30 p.m. on June 23. Should the board vote for the tax again, it would go to the fiscal court for a vote that's been deemed a "rubber stamp" with no real opportunity to overturn the decision.
But the do-over might not be the end of the story for Fayette County Schools.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Kentucky auditor Allison Ball is considering a financial investigation of the district. School board chair Tyler Murphy told the Leader the school system "isn't the problem," adding that it's "stepped up time and again to fill the gap left by misplaced priorities at the state and federal levels."