LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The controversy surrounding a campaign message sent to multiple parents in the Fayette County School Board race continues.
Last week, Fayette County Schools admitted to LEX 18 that they should not have given school board member Will Nash the names, phone numbers, and addresses of parents in his district.
It appears now, however, one parent is not satisfied with the board's explanation. A few hours ago, a Fayette County parent in District One signed a formal complaint. The complaint will be filed tomorrow morning before the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance against board member Will Nash and Fayette County Public Schools.
As LEX 18 first reported, parents contacted us concerned about getting a text message from Will Nash asking for their vote in November.
Parents were concerned their privacy had been breached. LEX 18 reached out to Nash, who told us he obtained the information after filing an open records request.
FCPS said that the Kentucky School Board Association gave them the green light and they then emailed Nash contact information for more than 11,000 people. LEX 18 later confirmed that those numbers should have never been given to Nash. A copy of the complaint being filed by the parent alleges that Nash's "request of the parent contact data from Fayette County Public Schools constitutes a solicitation of a political contribution."
The complaint also state FCPS also acknowledged the data should not have been provided to Nash and "furthermore the school district's policies and procedures indicate that this data is not otherwise available to the general public."
The complaint seeks fines and the possible disqualification of Nash from holding a position as a school board member.
The parent filing the complaint spoke with LEX 18 over the phone and stated, "I just believe that what was done was just an abuse of power. It was unethical and just generally it was a misuse of student and family information for personal political gain. And I think we just need to hold people that hold these positions of power to a higher moral level."
