Fayette County School Board Places Superintendent Demetrus Liggins on Paid Leave

FCPS now faces a leadership change, financial scrutiny, and new questions about public accountability.

Jun 11, 2026

The Fayette County Board of Education’s John D. Price Administration Building at 450 Park Place in Lexington. The board placed Superintendent Demetrus Liggins on paid administrative leave and appointed Bill Bradford acting superintendent. Fayette County Board of Education / Public Domain, via Louisville Public Media.

The Fayette County Board of Education voted June 10 to place Superintendent Demetrus Liggins on paid administrative leave, hire VanAntwerp Attorneys to review information concerning his employment, and appoint Assistant Superintendent Bill Bradford as acting superintendent.

The vote changed who has day-to-day executive authority over Fayette County Public Schools.

Liggins has not been formally removed as superintendent. FCPS described the leave as a personnel action pending further review, and said school and district operations would continue without interruption.

That district is already facing budget strain, outside financial reviews, staff reductions, and questions from families, employees, and taxpayers. The board’s action does not resolve the financial questions around FCPS. It does move the district into a new phase: elected board members have placed the superintendent on leave while a law firm reviews his employment and an acting superintendent runs the district.

The Board’s June 10 Vote

On June 10, the Fayette County Board of Education held a special-called meeting at the John D. Price Administration Building in Lexington. FCPS announced a meeting to address a resignation notice from Superintendent Demetrus Liggins and to discuss interim district leadership.

The meeting followed public confusion over whether Liggins had resigned, requested a separation agreement, or rescinded a separation request. Local reporting from WKYT and LEX 18 described email exchanges between Liggins and the board over his status. The board then went into closed session before taking public action.

After the closed session, the board voted unanimously to place Liggins on paid administrative leave. FCPS said the leave was “consistent with standard personnel practices” and would remain in effect while information concerning his employment is reviewed.

The board also voted to retain VanAntwerp Attorneys to conduct that review. FCPS cited KRS 160.160, the Kentucky statute that grants local boards of education broad authority to act for school district purposes, including contracting and legal matters.

The third action was the immediate replacement of leadership. The board appointed Bill Bradford, an assistant superintendent, as acting superintendent. That means Bradford now handles executive leadership while Liggins remains on paid leave.

This was a direct board action, not a recommendation from the state auditor, the Kentucky Department of Education, or a court. The five elected members of the Fayette County Board of Education made the decision.

Paid Leave Is Temporary, Removal Has a Separate Legal Path

Kentucky law gives local school boards substantial authority over public school districts. KRS 160.160 gives a board of education the power to manage district business, enter into contracts, sue and be sued, and take lawful actions necessary to carry out school purposes.

KRS 160.370 describes the superintendent as the executive officer of the board. In plain language, the superintendent carries out school laws, state education rules, district policies, instructional responsibilities, discipline, and business affairs.

In Fayette County, the school board recruits, hires, and evaluates the superintendent and is responsible for the superintendent’s dismissal. That gives the board real authority over the superintendent’s employment.

Paid administrative leave is not the same as formal removal.

If a Kentucky board seeks to remove a superintendent for cause, KRS 160.350 requires a specific legal path. The board must act by a four-fifths vote; written charges must be entered in the board minutes and given to the superintendent; and the Kentucky Commissioner of Education must investigate and approve or reject the removal request.

FCPS has not announced that it has started the formal removal process. The action announced June 10 was paid administrative leave pending review. That leaves several possible paths: return to work, resignation, separation agreement, discipline, formal removal, or another board action.

The closed-session piece also deserves careful attention. Kentucky boards can discuss certain personnel and legal matters in closed session, but final action must occur in public. Readers should watch for the exact motion used to enter closed session, the minutes from the special meeting, and any public votes that follow.

The Budget Questions Behind the Leadership Change

The superintendent’s leave comes during a serious financial dispute at FCPS.

The district has been dealing with questions about budget projections, internal financial controls, outside reviews, and whether prior financial information accurately reflected the district’s condition.

FCPS’s own financial oversight timeline says the state auditor announced a special examination of the district in June 2025. The Fayette County Board later approved a contract with Weaver and Tidwell to conduct an external review.

In April 2026, Liggins said preliminary findings suggested district finances had been misstated for years. He also said multiple federal and state requirements may not have been followed, and that some accounting procedures may not have aligned with acceptable practices.

Those are serious statements from the superintendent himself. They place the current leadership dispute inside a larger public-money issue involving an $880.5 million tentative budget, district staffing cuts, short-term borrowing, and public confidence in the district’s financial records.

FCPS has said the board approved a balanced FY27 tentative budget of $880.5 million with a 2 percent minimum contingency. Local reporting also said the board approved a short-term loan request of up to $95 million after questions about cash flow before fall property-tax revenue arrives.

The district has also announced reductions in district-level positions and in work calendars for some employees. FCPS said more than 115 district support positions had been reduced between the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, with estimated savings tied to operational cuts and calendar reductions.

Those numbers connect the board’s personnel decision to real consequences for workers, classrooms, families, and public services. When a district cuts positions, borrows money, changes leadership, and awaits audit findings, residents have reason to ask for clear records and plain answers.

Why Fayette County Families and Taxpayers Are Affected

Fayette County Public Schools is Kentucky’s second-largest school district. Its decisions affect students, families, teachers, classified employees, school administrators, vendors, taxpayers, and community partners across Lexington and Fayette County.

This decision also matters beyond Fayette County because it illustrates how Kentucky school governance operates when a district faces simultaneous leadership and financial strain. The elected school board holds the local authority. The superintendent handles executive administration. The Kentucky Commissioner of Education becomes relevant if formal removal is pursued. The Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts matters because a special examination of FCPS finances is already underway.

For parents and students, the immediate concern is whether schools remain stable while district leadership changes. FCPS says operations will continue without interruption, but families will still want to know whether transportation, staffing, special education services, school budgets, and academic supports will be affected.

For employees, the issue is also material. District-level staff reductions and calendar reductions have already changed pay, work assignments, and job security for some workers. A leadership review could shape who makes the next round of budget, staffing, and administrative decisions.

For taxpayers, the concern is public money. An $880.5 million tentative budget, a reported $95 million short-term loan, outside legal counsel, outside accounting review, and pending audit work all require careful public review.

For voters, the issue is board accountability.

The Fayette County Board of Education is elected. Its members made the June 10 decision, and they will be responsible for explaining the next public actions they take.

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What you can do next

Ask for the June 10 meeting records. Request the agenda, minutes, video, the motion to enter closed session, the motion to return to open session, and the exact public motions approved after closed session.

Request the VanAntwerp Attorneys’ engagement letter. Ask for the scope of work, billing rates, contract amount, who authorized the contract, who receives the firm’s findings, and whether any final report will be released.

Read the superintendent contract and all addenda. The public needs the actual employment agreement, not only summaries, to understand paid leave, separation, benefits, severance, coaching allowances, car allowance, phone allowance, and removal provisions.

Track the board’s next public votes. Paid leave is temporary. The next legal step could be a separation agreement, a return to work, formal charges, a resignation agreement, or another employment action.

Attend Fayette County Board of Education meetings. FCPS provides public comment at regular monthly planning meetings for at least 15 minutes and no more than 30 minutes. Residents must follow the district’s sign-up rules before the meeting is called to order.

Watch the financial reviews separately from the personnel review. The state auditor’s special examination, the Weaver and Tidwell review, and the district’s own financial updates should be read as public-money documents. Do not let the superintendent employment dispute replace scrutiny of the budget.

Ask board members for a public timeline. The board may not be able to discuss personnel details. Still, it can explain the process: when the review began, what documents are public, what votes are required, how Bradford’s acting authority is defined, and when residents can expect the next public update.

Compare public statements with records.

In a school district facing financial strain, leadership conflict, and outside review, public confidence depends on documents: meeting minutes, contracts, audit reports, budget documents, invoices, and board votes.

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