A $16 million funding gap, uproar among parents and community members, a failed tax increase plan, a slate of internal and external reviews, and now calls from multiple state lawmakers for the superintendent to resign have marked a divisive budget cycle for the district.
"Taxpayers, parents, and teachers deserve better."Sen. Chris McDaniel (R)
Kentucky Sens. Chris McDaniel and Donald Douglas added their voices to Rep. Matt Lockett's public call for Liggins' ouster on Monday.
“Fayette County Public Schools receives roughly $274 million each year in state support. With that level of investment comes a duty to be open, careful, and accountable,” McDaniel wrote. “Instead, the public has seen lavish travel spending, misleading budget numbers, and even an unlawful tax-increase attempt. Taxpayers, parents, and teachers deserve better.”
Last week, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins assured state lawmakers he's committed to righting the ship.
"I want to be clear. I support 100 percent any effort, whether it be internal or external, to uncover what has gone wrong and to ensure it certainly does not happen again," he told a committee in Frankfort.
He also acknowledged much public critcism was warranted.
"I wish I had done more and I regret that we are in the position we're in today," he said. "There are countless things that I could say that I wish would have happened, should have happened, needed to happen... In my role as superintendent I understand that the bucks stop with me, and I accept that."
Yet unanswered questions loom over Monday's vote on the $800 million spending plan meant to protect board priorities while taking the most unpopular provisions off the table.
Laura Hartke with Kentucky 120 United-AFT told Spectrum News she's not sure how the district will handle the balancing act.
"The things have been said that would happen have not come true — down to (the) contingency fund, well that's not there, classes won't be hurt, well that's not there, so I don't know what that looks like," she said.
Liggins is also facing a lawsuit claiming the district retaliated against its budget director for flagging early concerns about the budget.
In the midst of the high-pressure budget season, the district has pointed to academic gains — highlighting studies showing Fayette County schools are recovering two times faster in reading and four times faster in math than the national average. District leaders have expressed a desire to preserve programs they see as contributing to those gains while passing a budget that doesn't ignite any more controversy.