Frankfort, Kentucky (September 22, 2025) – Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) exists for one purpose: to educate children. According to Representative Matt Lockett, whose district includes part of Fayette County, under the failed leadership of FCPS Board Chair Tyler Murphy and Superintendent Demetrus Liggins, that purpose has been abandoned. On Monday, September 22, Lockett called on Murphy and Liggins to resign. Lockett says he is standing with parents, educators, and taxpayers who want to see the constitutional promise of an effective system of common schools restored in Fayette County.
“Instead of schools defined by learning and achievement, the district has become a case study in dysfunction, controversy, and collapsing confidence. Parents, teachers, and taxpayers face a system where those entrusted with responsibility have squandered trust and undermined the very mission of public education. Instead of putting children first, the superintendent and board chair have allowed controversy to consume the district, eroding confidence at every level. Parents are angry, educators are frustrated, and students are the ones who ultimately pay the price. It is past time for accountability, the time has come for Tyler Murphy and Demetrus Liggins to put children first and step aside immediately,” Lockett said.
Lockett has been outspoken in his efforts to hold board leadership and the superintendent accountable for consistent failures in judgment, including chronic mismanagement and a refusal to prioritize students. He has repeatedly warned that the continued dysfunction at the top of Fayette County Public Schools threatens not only academic outcomes but also public confidence in the entire system.
“Our state constitution requires a system of common schools that provides an efficient, accountable, and effective education for every child. Fayette County is failing that test. Every single scandal and distraction we’ve seen is self-inflicted. They are, however, the direct result of poor choices, misplaced priorities, and a glaring lack of leadership,” Lockett added.
Lockett specifically cited several grievances, including:
- Excessive spending on administrative additives for failing school district leaders;
- An irresponsible compensation package for Superintendent Liggins, which increased to $381,767 and included $25,000 for an executive coach, despite public calls and petitions for his dismissal;
- The approval of excessive spending on employee travel, exceeding Jefferson, Boone, and Warren counties spending for similar travels;
- Continued attempts to raise the occupational tax on Fayette County families;
- Financial mismanagement resulting in a $16 million budget shortfall;
- Financial mismanagement resulting in lawsuits for unpaid invoices from contractors;
- Financial mismanagement resulting in the near depletion of a multi-million-dollar contingency fund;
- Disputes with board members regarding the actual amount held in contingency;
- A hostile administrative culture fostered by failed board leadership;
- Obstruction of the work and leadership of the FCPS Board of Education by denying access to district documents without an Open Records Request; and
- Lack of transparency in attempting to use eminent domain to seize land from homeowners.
“This community’s kids deserve better,” Lockett said. “The leadership of Fayette County Public Schools has lost the trust of the people they serve, and they will not regain it. The time has come for Superintendent Liggins and Chairman Murphy to resign so new leadership can begin the hard work of restoring confidence and putting children back at the center of education where they belong.”
via news release