Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins appealed his Open Meetings Act complaint to Attorney General Russell Coleman Tuesday.
The move comes after Liggins filed the complaint against the Fayette County Board of Education concerning its special-called meeting in early June. The meeting was largely held in closed session, and the school board ultimately placed Liggins on paid administrative leave. Bill Bradford was named acting superintendent.
The board denies violating the Open Meetings Act and refused to reinstate Liggins. After the board failed to meet that demand, Liggins filed a whistleblower complaint to the Kentucky Office of Education Accountability last week.
Liggins’ appeal to Coleman asks for the school board’s denial and the actions from the June 10 meeting be reversed.
His attorney, Amos Jones, said the district’s “wrongful insistence” it did not violate the law caused Liggins to pursue the appeal with the attorney general’s office.
“This is open and shut as far as we're concerned, though the attorney general has the authority to apply that law, so we know that the rule of law means something,” Jones said. “The commonwealth of Kentucky deserves that the laws and statutes that their representatives pass should be followed, especially by other elected officials, the Fayette County Board of Education.”
Jones said the goal of the Open Meetings Act complaints and appeal is to bring the process into the public.
The ongoing rift between Liggins and the school board follows the discovery of a $16 million budget shortfall last year and subsequent reveal of nearly two decades of financial mismanagement. To balance the budget, the district used its contingency fund and more than 100 employees were laid off. For next year’s budget, the district will take out a $95 million loan.
“We are aware of the appeal, are reviewing it, and will respond through the appropriate legal processes,” a spokesperson for FCPS said Tuesday. “Our focus remains on our students, our educators, and the successful, stable operation of Fayette County Public Schools.”
