LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Fayette County Public Schools held a media briefing Thursday morning following Wednesday night's board meeting, where a tentative budget of more than $880 million was approved.
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Fayette Co. school board approves $880M budget as leadership is questioned
The budget is made up of five different funds, with the general fund totaling $700 million. The board also approved a $95 million tax revenue anticipation note.
School leaders used Thursday's briefing to revisit and clarify several items from Wednesday night's meeting.
"We've been really clear from the very beginning. I think that recovery is going to take a while," Kyna Koch, the school board's interim chief financial officer said.
Officials outlined a three-part approach to addressing the district's financial challenges.
"We're correcting the errors in the current year and ensuring that all processes are being followed. We are looking back at the previous year to uncover errors and restate those so that we will have good historical information as we move forward. And thirdly, we're planning for next year with accurate projections and reductions that protect the classroom," said Koch.
The board said it has met the required 2% contingency in the tentative budget for fiscal year 2027 and pledged to remain transparent throughout the process. Officials acknowledged, however, that the target contingency threshold falls short of what is needed.
"Our administrative procedure says that we should be at 6%, and even 6% is really not enough, as we're finding out now," Koch said.
Employee layoffs have also been a point of discussion. When asked how decisions were made about staffing cuts, officials responded:
"Tough decisions happen in this district every single day. We want to make sure we don't trivialize any of the decisions that were made and we want to remain empathetic to the employees who, their lives were changed because of some of these decisions. We're going to come together as a district and work together collaboratively and cross-departmentally," Tracy Bruno, the school board's chief of staff explains.
Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins was also asked during the briefing whether he was considering leaving the district.
"My focus right now is working on ensuring that we right the ship, we get our financial house in order and that we continue to do what's best for kids to move forward. I'm not interested in politics. I can't deal with personal opinions and feelings at this point. My focus remains on doing what's best for this district," Liggins said.
The board said it will have a clearer picture of the district's financial standing once the fiscal year concludes.
Officials also announced they will be moving forward with a new firm for audits, with that company expected to be identified next month.
