School Board Tackles Next Year's Budget

The Fayette County Board of Education, FCPS Superintendent Demetrus Liggins, and district staff leaders gathered Feb. 27 for a specially called meeting to discuss the 2025-26 tentative budget. The workshop emphasized their commitment to developing a well-balanced budget that focuses on student achievement and support. 

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Video Transcript

(Voiced by Board Chair Tyler Murphy)

At Fayette County Public Schools, we remain laser focused on our mission and our calling — providing a world-class education for each and every child entering our doors, preparing them not just for life beyond the classroom but also empowering them to thrive in a future we can't even predict. It is no secret that public education faces many significant challenges — the specter of inflation, the drumbeat of privatization, and threats of draconian cuts in critical investments at the state and federal levels. This landscape certainly impacts our own budget conversations locally. As public schools continue to be asked to do so much more with so much less, we continue to look inward — fine tuning innovative solutions, identifying opportunities to improve efficiencies, and maintaining our commitment to sound fiscal management that maximizes our investments in students.

Our annual budget workshop is an opportunity to meet with the superintendent and his staff, to engage in extensive discussion about the 2025-26 budget. This meeting is a vital opportunity to scrutinize every dollar spent, ensuring that each investment directly benefits our students, empowers our staff, and supports our core educational mission. Our historic investments in teacher salaries and benefits, cutting-edge classroom technology, and specialized academic programming have already demonstrated measurable success. None of our schools were marked for needing comprehensive improvement during last year’s state accountability testing, we’ve seen significant gains in the academic success of our most vulnerable students, including English language learners and students with special needs, and we started this school year with our certified teaching positions fully staffed.

As we navigate these challenging economic times and prepare for potential headwinds, our board remains committed to transparency throughout this process. We welcome feedback from our community, recognizing that your insights are crucial in shaping an effective and sustainable budget that meets the diverse needs of our students. Our guiding principles continue to focus on hiring and retaining highly qualified, well-compensated teachers, maintaining a safe learning environment for every child, and providing rigorous academic programming that prepares every student for success.

We invite you to share your thoughts during our board meetings or you can provide feedback or ask questions by scanning the QR code on the screen, which is also available on our district’s website, fcps.net.

While there are many unknowns at this time, there is one thing I do know: Our community stands united around our public schools and the power of the work that we do each day. That continues to be our greatest asset in Fayette County. And your voice will be needed now more than ever as we advocate for our public schools locally, in Frankfort, and in Washington, D.C.

Thank you for your continued partnership and trust as we forge ahead, ensuring that every decision we make reinforces our commitment to both fiscal responsibility and the success of every single student.