School board chair defends controversial tax vote that could trigger state audit
Fayette school board chairman Tyler Murphy on Friday defended the school district in the face of a threatened state audit, lawmakers' criticism and a Kentucky attorney general's opinion of unlawfulness.
'FCPS is not the problem. In fact, we've stepped up time and again to fill the gap left by misplaced priorities at the state and federal levels, recognizing that our public schools remain the bedrock of our community and our local economy,' Murphy said in a Facebook post.
Republican Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman ruled Wednesday the school board failed to provide the legally required notice to the public before its May 27 meeting and vote to ask the fiscal court to raise the occupational license tax for schools.
On Friday, Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said the school board will hold a second vote on June 23. The school board will also a public hearing on a yet to be announced day on raising the tax.
Parents and other people in the community, Democrats and Republicans, have expressed concerns about a lack of transparency in how the school board handled the vote. Notice of a May 27 vote was made known to the public only when it was attached to an online meeting agenda on the Memorial Day weekend before.
Some have raised concerns about the school board's process, others about the possibility of a tax rate increase, and many others about the district's budget shortfall.
Republican Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball said Thursday she is considering a financial examination or audit of the school district.
Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, and Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville are among those criticizing the district for a lack of transparency. Bledsoe asked for the AG opinion and talked to Ball about conducting a state audit.
That drew a rebuke from Murphy.
'We don't need lectures from those pushing policies that harm working families and children,' he said.
'Our community rejected voucher schemes at the ballot box, and our community will continue to defend public education from political theatrics designed to distract and divide,' he said.
'While we always welcome dialogue and feedback that help us improve, it's important that the conversation begins with facts and reflects the reality of the work happening in our schools each day.'
According to the attorney general's opinion, the school board's 3-2 vote to ask the Fayette Fiscal Court to increase school tax rates on residents and businesses' net income from 0.5% to 0.75% was improper. That's because, under state law, school boards must notify the public and hold a formal hearing before voting on new or increased taxes.
Fayette school district officials argue the vote was legal and the tax increase was needed to cover a $16 million budget shortfall.
The district recently approved an $848 million tentative budget for 2025-2026.
The reality is that FCPS is a district with real momentum, he said:
▪ The district has received five consecutive perfect financial audits from independent, outside auditors, demonstrating responsible fiscal stewardship.
▪ Not a single FCPS school is labeled 'underperforming.'
▪ Though FCPS educates 6% of Kentucky's students, Fayette students account for 34% of the state's highest academic performers.
▪ The district continues to narrow opportunity gaps for student groups who have historically been underserved, improving outcomes in academic achievement, access to advanced coursework and readiness for college, careers, and life.
▪ FCPS maintains a financial transparency dashboard where anyone can track the district's expenses and budget. He said FCPS is on budget and in the black for FY2025. https://www.fcps.net/about/transparency/financial-report
'While we are proud of the progress being made, we are equally committed to transparency and continuous improvement. We know we must keep raising the bar for ourselves, in how we communicate, how we govern, and how we deliver on the promise of public education,' Murphy said
'That said, it's hard to ignore the broader political landscape. At a time when Washington and Frankfort are plagued by division, and decisions are too often made to benefit the powerful few, public schools have become a convenient target.'
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This is a market where the discourse is radically at odds with what we talk about all day. We are so stuck on Fed talk — should they cut? — that we are part of the hideous misdirection play that is going on in the professional discourse of the moment. These buyers and the stocks they buy don't care about any of what "we" talk about, and I have to redouble my efforts to try to blunt what I see as a radical mistake in coverage that is geared toward hedge funds and not the dominant chord of individual investors. Oh and remember, I am not even talking about the youthful traders who congregate around stocks like Coinbase , Robinhood and Michael Saylor's bitcoin-focused Strategy . While that cohort can't be ignored, they are more obvious. They are part of a confused, momentum-oriented new investor class that is led by those who will drive Palantir to $200 a share, an excellent speculative stock by the way. And it is going to $200. Now, I am schooled in the value of the Fed talk myself. But I am trying to pull the wires from my own brainwashing, which is never easy. I need to go back to the 1990s, when what mattered was stock picking — not the S & P 500 and earnings; not sales and companies that did something meaningful; not companies that catered to the enterprise software mob of code-writers who might be obviated by AI; or those who do nothing but trade the S & P and a bunch of stupid ETFs. Will it be difficult to upend the Fed-geared reportage that every single outlet finds to be the holy grail of business journalism? No. Because those who follow it and believe in it don't know jack about individual stocks anyway. Learning about them is a time-consuming anathema. Plus, they don't know their game is atavistic anyway. They don't see themselves as an obstacle to new world performance. Business journalism has gotten away from learning new stories — too difficult and time consuming and not the province of young researchers anyway. They console themselves that they follow Magnificent Seven drizzle and can speak about Tesla with the best of them. In order to help the waning tide of viewers to stay with us, the new manifesto is to learn the "great unwashed" of stock stories that are under $100 billion in market cap that are truly terrific. There are investors who want to own Nvidia or the next Nvidia, and by golly, we better help find them, or we might as well cut the cord, too. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Rick Scott drafts key Medicaid amendment ahead of voting marathon
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