Fayette County Public Schools to seek short-term loan after audits show finances misstated for years

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins announced that the district will seek a short-term loan to cover expenditures after preliminary findings revealed district finances have been misstated for years.

In an April update, Liggins said the leadership team will ask the school board in May for a short-term loan to bridge the gap until property taxes are received in the fall. He attributed the need for the loan to inaccurate cash flow information previously provided to the district.

“If the findings are confirmed in the final reports, the ramifications will be significant and long-term,” Liggins said.

Liggins assumed direct oversight of the district’s financial operations in August 2025. Since then, two external reviews have been completed and shared publicly, and an interim chief financial officer was hired in March to examine internal processes.

Currently, two additional external investigations are underway. The school board hired the accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell for a comprehensive review, and the state’s Auditor of Public Accounts is conducting a special examination, Liggins reported.

“Preliminary findings suggest that our district’s finances have been misstated for years, that multiple federal and state requirements may not have been followed, and that our accounting procedures may not have been aligned with acceptable practices,” Liggins said.

Liggins noted he is not a certified public accountant but fully supports a forensic audit based on the information received so far.

While operational improvements are already being implemented, Liggins warned that difficult decisions will be required in the coming days and weeks as the district develops its proposed budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

“We cannot afford to keep going the way we have been,” Liggins said.

Liggins plans to share additional information during monthly board meetings, media briefings, and direct communications with staff, families, and the community.

“Our students deserve a district that is both fiscally sound and academically excellent,” Liggins said.

Board Chair Tyler Murphy and Vice Chair Amy Green released a joint statement addressing the audit findings.

“What has been uncovered to this point appears to reflect years of financial misreporting going back as far as 2008,” Murphy and Green said. “This is deeply unacceptable, and we are angry on behalf of every student, family, educator, and taxpayer.”

The board leaders said they authorized the audit to provide the community with the truth and are now demanding accountability, transparency, and action. They have directed the superintendent to take necessary corrective measures.

“Addressing an issue of this magnitude and duration requires disciplined, collective leadership, and continual oversight rooted in facts, guided by evidence, and focused on moving the district forward with clarity and purpose,” Murphy and Green said.

Despite the financial findings, the board leaders emphasized that student success remains their guiding purpose, noting that students are succeeding at record levels and achievement gaps are closing.

“Our educators are excelling,” they said. “And we remain committed to protecting the classroom and providing world-class education.”