Last week, Liggins reportedly requested the board discuss a separation agreement with FCPS. The move follows a year of turmoil over financial mismanagement, missing contingency funds, a budget shortfall and layoffs.
The board announced his resignation, which Liggins disputes, and in a special-called meeting June 10, board members placed him on paid leave. Assistant Superintendent Bill Bradford was appointed interim superintendent.
Liggins has hired Amos Jones Law Firm, a civil rights lawyer based in Washington, D.C., and Lexington attorney William L. Davis. The lawyers filed a complaint delivered Thursday to school board members, demanding he be reinstated. In a statement, the lawyers say “FCPS manufactured a resignation where none existed” and argue the board cited an incorrect law as the basis for placing him on leave.
“This is not administrative leave in any meaningful sense,” attorney Amos Jones stated in a news release. “They announced a resignation that never happened, displaced the lawful superintendent, installed another superintendent, silenced Dr. Liggins inside his own system, and then hired investigators to determine whether the result already imposed should be imposed. Kentucky law does not allow a school board to manufacture a vacancy, perform a removal first, and search for a justification afterward.”
Liggins’ attorneys contend the school board violated the superintendent’s contract by removing him without a formal resignation and further violated the state’s open meetings law.
The filing calls for the board to reinstate Liggins within four days.
School board chairman Tyler Murphy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
