Examining over 950 public records, the Leader found Liggins made the purchases on meals, hotels, plane tickets, and other services and supplies on his procurement card. He also took 29 school board-approved trips during the same period, attending conferences and other meetings in New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, to name a few.
The numbers are surfacing amid increased scrutiny of the district as a whole, following a roller-coaster budget cycle that drew the attention of state lawmakers.
Last month, Liggins testified before a legislative committee regarding district finances. Several lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, grilled the superintendent over receipts.
"I would venture to say, when we get to the bottom of this audit, we will see a tremendous amount of waste within the district," she said.
Liggins said he welcomed any investigations.
District spokesperson Miranda Scully told the Leader that FCPS is proactively engaging in internal and external probes, going on to ask that the community allow those processes to be completed before "drawing final conclusions."
Meanwhile, the superintendent is defending the trips, telling the paper each conference he attends is "carefully chosen" with the goal of returning with actionable ideas to enhance FCPS programs.