LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Friends, colleagues, and people in the community gathered on Tuesday evening to celebrate Dr. Demetrus Liggins as the award recipient of Kentucky's 2026 Superintendent of the Year.
It comes amid scrutiny, from both the Board of Education and the community on the district's budget.
Those speaking at tonight's gathering say that's all the more reason to show their support.
"Today we demonstrate, it's not what we say, it's what we do. We're not all ... I'm going to stay on subject here. We're shaping the narrative of love. We can't let other shape our narrative," said one speaker.
The award is granted yearly by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, and was presented at the Lyric Theatre.
During the ceremony, Dr. Liggins reflected back to when he became superintendent: "I often forget it was a national search, and I often have to remind myself this is something I applied for, I competed for."
But the ceremony didn't shy away from the criticism of Dr. Liggins. Rather, speakers said it was the more reason to come together to celebrate him.
"Anybody that has a complaint about Dr. Liggins, I suggest they go look at his record," said District 77 Representative George Brown Jr.
The ceremony comes just a day after the board unveiled the fiscal 2025-26 working budget for the first time in its entirety to the Board of Education.
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During Monday night's meeting, Liggins said that, in hindsight, he wished he "had asked a lot more probing questions, gotten more deeply involved, and been a little more skeptical."
The public and the board has been vocal about their concerns regarding the district's budget.
"There's a lot of confusion, a lot of terms being thrown around that I don't think even they understand, the laws are written in a way that's hard to interpret, but it seems pretty clear that there are major issues," Leanne Sebourn, a FCPS parent, told LEX 18 on Tuesday.
When it comes to that ongoing discussion, Board Chair Tyler Murphy said on Tuesday that a special called meeting is set for a week from today, focusing on "authorizing an external operational audit, investigation, and review of our budget, finance, and internal control systems."
See his full statement below:
“As the Fayette County Board of Education considers the adoption of the 2025-26 fiscal year working budget, we remain focused on our most important responsibility: supporting students in the classroom.
The challenges we’ve faced are not unique. We must approach them head-on, committed to solutions and stronger communications in order to strengthen trust with our community.
With a clearer picture of our year-end finances and a 2025-26 proposed budget that prioritizes investments in students, we are ready to take the next steps in that work.
I have called a special board meeting for Tuesday, September 16 at 5:30 p.m. with the agenda to include authorizing an external operational audit, investigation, and review of our budget, finance, and internal control systems.
Over the past few weeks, the vice chair and I have collaborated with the superintendent, sharing key recommendations to improve district processes and the board’s work. Many of these have already been implemented.
This independent review will build on that progress, identify other solution areas, and reinforce our promise to the community to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
Our Board remains committed to ensuring that every child in our care has the opportunity to succeed and the support they need to achieve their dreams. In the end, their success is the true measure of our success.”
Dr. Liggins will also appear in Frankfort that day discussing the district's budget. He will meet with the Interim Joint Committee on Education, as confirmed with the committee's minutes.
State law requires that the district have a budget in place by September 30.
