FCPS School Board Planning Meeting - May 11, 2026

001Okay, good evening everybody. I know it is 5:20. We have a brief District Finance Corporation meeting before the board meeting at 5:20 to take care of some procedural matters. So, I'll now call this meeting of the Fayette County School District Finance Corporation to order. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to approve the minutes of the November 11th, 2025 meeting of the District Finance Corporation. Is there a motion? I move we approve the minutes of the November 11th, 2025 Finance Corporation. We have a motion by board member Green. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Mundy. Questions on approval of those minutes. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? [clears throat] Motion carries 5-0. At this time, I'll turn the agenda over to Superintendent Liggins to take us through the action item

002on our action items on our agenda for the Finance Corporation. Dr. Liggins. Thank you, Chair Murphy. At this at the last Fayette County Board of Education meeting, the board took action to give Interim Chief Financial Officer Keena Cul Authority to conduct needed business. Tonight, we're asking the Fayette County School District District Finance Corp to take similar action. Uh thank you, Dr. Liggins. If there are no further questions at this time, the motion would be to elect Interim Chief Financial Officer Keena Cul as Treasurer of the Fayette County School District Finance Corporation. Is there a motion to that effect? I make a motion to that effect. >> Motion by board member Green. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Christian. Questions on making Interim Chief Financial Officer Keena Cul be Treasurer of the Fayette

003County School District Finance Corporation. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Dr. [clears throat] Liggins. Thank you, Chair Murphy. Our next request of our are the necessary steps in order to continue our partnership with the Central Kentucky Japanese School. Our Chief Operating officer, Dr. Myron Thompson, is with us this evening to explain more of those details. Good evening, Dr. Liggins, and thank you. Uh this is a little cleanup in terms of the Finance Corp. As you may know, uh years ago the the board could not take on debt for any bond issuance. Uh that has since changed, so we can now issue bonds in the names of the Board of Education, but a lot of our older projects still have deeds in the Finance Corporation. So, in

004order to move forward with any uh project such as the contract with Central Kentucky Japanese School, we want to clean up this deed transfer, so you're taking two actions, uh acknowledging that you do hold that the Finance Corp does hold the deed and that you're going to transport back to the Board of Education. Uh basically, since the Finance Corp will not be issuing any new debt on behalf of the Board of Education, we are considering getting all of the deeds that the Finance Corp currently holds going forward and have one last meeting to sort of clean that up all in one fell swoop, as opposed to doing it piecemeal as things come up. But, for tonight, we just need an action on this particular uh deed transfer. Uh thank you, Dr. Thompson. Are there any

005questions? If there are no questions at this time, I'll accept a motion to approve the resolution of the Board of Directors of the Fayette County School District Finance Corporation as to the conveyance of Edith Jones Hayes Middle School as presented in the agenda. Is there a motion? Move. A motion by board member Christian. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Mundy. Questions on approval of the resolution, any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Next, I'll entertain a motion to approve the deed as Dr. Thompson indicated, made and entered into this 11th day of May 2026 by and between the Fayette County School District Finance Corporation, an agency, instrumentality, and constituted authority of the Board of Education of Fayette County, Kentucky, which has a mailing address

006of 450 Park Place, Lexington, Kentucky 40501, party of the first part, and the Board of Education of Fayette County, Kentucky, which has a mailing address of 450 Park Place, Lexington, Kentucky 40501, party of the second part. As presented in the agenda, is there a motion to that effect, and you do not have to repeat that legalese language. So moved. >> Motion by Board member Green. Is there a second? Second. Second by Board member Mundy. Question is on the approval of the deed as indicated. Any discussion? All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. I'll now entertain a motion to adjourn this meeting of the Fayette County School District Finance Corporation. Is there a motion? Move to Motion by Board member Christian. Is there a second? Second. Second by Board member Green. All

007in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. The District Finance Corporation is now adjourned. We will proceed with our regular planning session at 5:30 p.m. >> Okay. Everyone ready? Everyone ready? Okay. Okay, good. Okay. Good evening everyone. I will now call this planning work session of the Fayette County Board of Education to order. Ms. Jackson, good evening to you. Will you please take roll? Good evening. Amanda Ferguson. Present. Amy Green. Present. Tyler Murphy. Present. Penny Christian. Present. Monica Mundy. Present. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Jackson. I'd like to welcome everyone joining us for tonight's meeting. Our first matter is adoption of the agenda for tonight's meeting. Before I entertain a motion to adopt the agenda, I would like to ask our interim uh chief financial officer about an agenda item G1E um that

008is under discussion for tonight for action at the May meeting, but that's our audit contract for fiscal year 26. Uh Ms. Coe, I know at the action meeting in April, you had indicated that given the timeline, uh we were probably for lack of a better term stuck with the current relationship with our current auditor. Um in reflecting on this situation that we find ourselves in, is there any alternative path or possibility of seeking an extension to any deadlines that we face to contract with another external auditor? Um absolutely. We can request an extension from the Kentucky Department of Education. Um I would have to assume given our situation that they would approve it. Um it's just a matter of um getting to the right person at KDE and we can do that tomorrow if the

009board so chooses. So would it be advisable then, could we pull this item from the agenda and then return to it once we know more and what our options might be? I think that would be appropriate. Okay. Thank you. So my request would be that we pull G1E from discussion until we know more. So with that change, I'll accept a motion to adopt the agenda for tonight's meeting. So moved. Motion by Warm and Green, is there a second? Second by Warm and Christian. All in favor of adopting the agenda as presented and with that change, say I. I. >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Our next item on the agenda, I'll turn the agenda over to Superintendent Legins to lead us through our action item for this evening. All right. Thank you, Chair Murphy.

010Tonight we are seeking your approval on the 25-26 final amended instructional calendar. I'd like to ask our director of pupil personnel, Steve Hill, to come forward. [clears throat] Good evening, board. I'm waiting for the There we go. Hope everybody's doing well. Um tonight we're going to go over the amended calendar. Just want a reminder of the KRS 158.070 that um statutorily has the instructional hours uh the minimal instructional instructional hours of 1,062 and then 170 days. And so I'm uh here to report that we've met those obligations for the 25-26 school year. Uh we're we we have on the final calendar um will be 170 days with 1,088 instructional hours. We still have some bank time, so that's always good. Um we've had 10 weather cancellations. Four of those uh were used through banked instructional

011hours cuz we originally had 174, so it's it obviously takes it down to 170. And then we have rescheduled 6 days in which we are currently making up uh towards to meet the the final goal. Um and then happy to report our final instructional day will be June 3rd for students. And so I'll take any questions if anybody has any. Thank you. Any questions, board members? And we appreciate everyone's patience after that day in March. We were like, "Well, maybe the snow won't be over until uh after spring break." So uh very good. If there are no further questions, I'll entertain a motion to approve the final amended instructional calendar for the year 2025-2026. Is there a motion? Motion by board member Christian. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by board member Green. Questions on

012approval of the final amended instructional calendar with the last day for students June 3rd, 2026. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Next item on our agenda is approval of the minutes from the April 27th, 2026 regular meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education. Do I have a motion? I move we approve the minutes from the April 27th, 2026 Motion by Board Member Green. Is there a second? Second. Second by Board Member Monday. Questions on approval of the April 27th, 2026 minutes. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Next item on our agenda is approval of the consent items for the planning meeting, the professional leave requests, the shortened school day, extended field trip, and the declaration of surplus BG-1.

013Is there a motion? I move. Motion by Board Member Monday. Is there a second? Second. Second by Board Member Christian. Questions on approval of the consent items. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Our planning work session is an opportunity to review our agenda for our action meeting later in the month and to allow time for extended presentations and discussions. So, at this time, I'll turn the agenda over to Superintendent Leggins to lead us through our regular meeting agenda. And as usual, he and his staff will be available to answer any questions we have regarding any agenda item. If there are any questions that they are not able to answer this evening, we would like to ask him to compile a list of questions and answers as

014a follow-up to the board. Dr. Leggins. Thank you, Chairman Murphy. Uh at our action meeting on May 21st, the moment of silence, pledge of allegiance, and the reading of the mission statement will be led by board member Vice Chair Amy Green. Under our Superintendent's report this evening, I'd also like to invite our FCPS Director of Fine Arts, Katherine Louther, to share a look back at the many accomplishments our students and staff in the area of fine arts this year. Good evening. I'm very excited to share with you our fine art year in review and Seal of Arts Excellence update. With me today, I have Kelly May, fine arts instructional specialist, as well as Janeway Howard, a senior Lafayette High School student. And they're going to help us today learn a little bit more about the

015Seal of Arts Excellence. Before we do that, however, I'd love to share with you a variety of achievements that our students have done throughout this year, from kindergarten all the way up through seniors in high school. Uh with the arts, we always try to align with everything that we do with our curriculum standards as well as our Portrait of a Graduate. You're going to see evidence of that tonight. All of our students, and Janeway and Kelly will talk more about this today, uh inherently learn about the promises of a Portrait of a Graduate and gain these skills throughout their artistic experiences. So, I'm going to defer to them in just a moment and lead you through a couple of items that we are excited to Throughout the district, 81.6% of our students are rostered into

016fine arts courses. This 81% 81.6% does not include students who are not rostered into elementary school specials. So, you can see that the overwhelming majority, over 33,000 plus of our students are enrolled in art courses. You can see the breakdown of the um demographics who are taking the courses, and it's very diverse, and our students come from all different backgrounds, all different ages, all different experiences, and they really enjoy learning from um the art educators that we have this year. Examples of the work that we see here is the current district-wide secondary visual art showcase that's at the Living Arts and Science Center. You can see we have the uh first two are actually from middle schoolers. Uh the first is a uh pastel artwork. It's called tiger. And then on the bottom, we have

017a um kind of a honeycomb beehive um sculpture. And then this shockingly accurate depiction of Mylar balloons is from a ninth grader at um Frederick Douglass High School. And that is actually 2D. It's flat, but when you see it in person, it's really shocking. Like, you want to touch it, but don't touch the art. We also are very excited about our partnerships and collaborations that we've continued to and added this year, including for the first time and only time in history, the 250 Elect Commission. We were invited to participate with the 250 Elect to celebrate uh various times throughout the year, and you'll see a couple of photos of those uh later on. Another one of our exciting partners is the Bluegrass Youth Ballet. They were able to offer our students educational experiences for free,

018including the Day of the Dead performance that you see on the right there. They had 1,611 students that came for free to experience the beauty of the Bluegrass Youth Ballet. These are dancers who are their peers, not a professional group of dancers. These are kindergarteners through high schoolers who are performing together to put on this beautiful cultural experience. And our students were able to experience that for free. On the left you can see Kristen Blaker from Arlington Elementary with the elementary art showcase also at the Living Arts and Science Center. They are very good about allowing us to take over their building for quite a while and really explode the space with art over every possible surface. If you have time by Friday go out there and see what the secondary artists are up to.

019On the bottom we have an example from our Keeneland partnership throughout the year throughout the school year. They invited us to the teacher appreciation day and you can see here we have a mixed choir from middle through high school of students all throughout the district and then Janeway here was conducting them as they were singing the national anthem a cappella on that day. Variety of other arts arts and community partners you can see there and if you see them in in public thank them for their support of our arts programming. We also like to share our experiences beyond expectation. These are things that are above and beyond the normal functioning of our class. So in the upper left, we have a very interesting collaboration with Bryan Station High School band. Bryan Station High School Mariachi

020ensemble, as well as a group from Korea, the Gwangju High School Broadcasting High School came and did a cultural exchange. So, the students did have a little bit of a language barrier, but what was not a barrier was the language of music. They were able to perform on stage together, whether it was Spanish, English, or Korean, or they just all were up and screaming like it was an actual K-pop concert. It was so exciting and invigorating, and I know some of you were able to be there. And thank you to Ronchi and the Innovation Office for facilitating that experience, which truly exceeded all expectations. We also have in the middle there, we have Lexington Middle School, who put on a performance of Once on This Island. And the cool thing about this is that they

021worked with BCT Tech Theater uh to create a thrust stage, which went out into the cafeteria, and it had sand, real sand on there, and you can see that the lighting and everything is absolutely except and that's at Lex. In the middle, we have an experience for the Legislative Art Showcase. And so, our students' work is up at the Capitol, and this is These are students from mostly elementary school, and they were able to go to the Kentucky Arts Day in February. State Representative Chad All is there. He invited them to come and sit in the seats in the committee room, take questions and answers, and they were able to get onto the mic and and speak. And that was a really special experience that the students did not anticipate simply by creating their artwork

022and sharing it with the cap. On the bottom, there you have a 250 Lex performance. This is the We the People concert, in which we had over 300 students. Our goal was 250. Over 300 and or 300 students collaborating on a piece that was written specifically for Fayette County Public Schools combined choirs and the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra. And it was a poem to commemorate 250 years of Lexington's um ex In the upper right, you have Principal Brian Jacobs and some students again from Lexington Middle who won the Blue Grass Airport Paint the Plow competition. And so our students were actually able to go to the um gigantic equipment hanger, and I was shocked at how tall even just the tires were. The kids got to go in there and climb into some of the

023uh fire trucks and plows that they have and really get a hands-on experience. Some of them were able to beep the horn before they said, "Let's not do that anymore." Um but it was a really great experience. And if you went to um Blue Grass Airport in uh the wintertime, you probably passed this and hopefully noticed that it was from Lexington school. On the bottom right, we have an experience from the new VAPA uh academy at Harrison Elementary, and they were able to collaborate with the um Lexington Uniting Voices uh Uniting Voices singers of Lexington with Dr. Michael Priestley. They performed on stage as well as Noah Ricketts, who plays on Broadway's uh Great Gatsby. Uh so this was a really good opportunity for them to get first-hand experience of what a working artist um

024can contribute to the community and then give back. Our national standards are uh there are many of them, but they're boiled down into four: create, perform, respond, and connect. And our students really do showcase that. So, you can see here, they're building a set for Mamma Mia, the district-wide summer musical. In the center, we have another 250 Lex performance with Dr. Everett McCorvey. And this is the 280 plus all city choir that comprised of our high school students from all of our A1 high schools and STEAM and TLC, as well as our orchestra students there. In the upper right, you have the big chill from Ashland Elementary's dance program. In the bottom right, you have Brenda Cowan Elementary featured there in another art exhibit, Mick Jefferies and Ashland Elementary with a teaching arts with the

025Kentucky Arts Council, connecting with the community, connecting with the state at large. And then, we also have something that happened this past Saturday in the bottom right, a new program through the Lexington Youth Arts Council. This is a collaboration between Fayette County Public Schools and LexArts, which is our foundational arts organization, the network that brings the arts to the community and into our schools. This is a representation of all of our high schools and STEAM Academy. We have our students here who are talking about arts advocacy, accessibility, and inclusivity, and how to bring the arts to our community. And so, on Saturday, they engaged with elementary school students to put on play in a day. And this was all conceived by our arts council. You can see here the students are making superhero capes with

026their their new friends. They're performing in warm-ups together. They're learning a dance. They were singing. And then, the final showcase there on the bottom. So, when we're talking about creating, perform, performing, responding, and connecting. Our students are doing that every single day and then every now and then we culminate in a large scale performance that brings it all together. We also have students who are performing at the national and state levels winning awards. Of course, our beloved marching bands Lafayette won the state championship for class 5A in October-November and Paul Laurence Dunbar won third place in that same class. We have students who are selected as the Kentucky youth poet laureate and so Madeline didn't also from Lafayette High School. If you can see her snippet from her poem there it it's quite impactful about

027her experience as a uh as an immigrant to America. In the bottom left we have Gia Seth from Lafayette High School who won the Congressional Art Award and standing there with Andy Barr. Her work is actually hung in the the United States Capitol for the entire year for the entire country to enjoy. We also have students who won the International Sister Cities Art Competition and so you can see Ellen Lee from Paul Laurence Dunbar won third place in the digital medium category. Again, if you can zoom in and take a look at that it's it's a pretty significant piece of work. Our Lafayette theater program James and the Giant Peach won the SECTC theater competition and that is actually the national competition for high school theater. So that's a really huge honor. We also have

028Jane Way Howard who won the International All State All State All Tech Vocal Theater Competition which enabled her to have a full tuition scholarship to the University of Kentucky. Students come from throughout the world to compete for this opportunity at University of Kentucky and she is the first Fayette County student who won the undergraduate award in the history of uh the program. And in um on May 20 uh 21st, Rachel Losch will share with you about the um Keeneland experience um and so I'll save that for her. I'm going to turn it over to Kelly and also to Janeway to take you through our Seal of Arts Excellence update. Everything that we've done so far contributes to that, but this is the culmination of our high school experience. The Seal of Arts Excellence is a

029KDE endorsed distinction awarded to graduates who demonstrate an advanced level of specialization and technical proficiency within the visual and performing arts. More than just an award, this program gives real meaning to how our students learn. The Seal of Arts Excellence helps students connect the dots between their creative work and the specific promises we make in our portrait of a graduate. The Seal of Arts Excellence portfolio serves as evidence evidence that our students are not only mastering their craft at grade-appropriate levels, but are also developing the transferable skills necessary for post-secondary success. FCPS first adopted the Seal of Arts Excellence guidelines in the 22 20 I'm sorry, 23-24 school year. This year, 202 total recipients earned the award representing approximately 8% of our graduating senior class. When our district team reviewed the digital portfolios, we were

030pleased to find the quality of work has improved each year. Students who earn the Seal of Arts Excellence receive a medal to wear at graduation, a seal on their diploma, and a designation on their transcript. Please note that the Seal of Arts Excellence is aligned to the Kentucky standards for visual and performing arts. Creative writing is not currently part of these standards. However, FCPS has created a crosswalk aligning the ELA standards with the VPA standards. SCAPA at Lafayette High School offers a literary arts major, and other high schools also have vibrant creative writing programs. Because of this, we choose to honor the students whose artistic expression is through the written word. Here's the breakdown of the seven disciplines for the Seal of Arts Excellence, including creative writing, dance, media arts, music, visual art, and both

031technical and theater performance. You can see that music is the arts discipline with the most recipients, followed by visual arts, and then theater arts combined. Finally, I want to highlight the specific milestones that have been achieved this year. For the first time, students from STEAM and TLC received the Seal of Arts Excellence, a result of intentional collaboration between district staff, teachers, and students. We observed impressive growth at the school level. Frederick Douglass High School saw a 120% increase in earned awards, while Lafayette achieved the highest overall percentage of recipients, representing 44% of recipients district-wide. Notably, at both Bryan Station High School and Lafayette High School, the seal was earned by nearly 10% or more of the entire senior body. A particularly innovative development occurred at Lafayette, where they piloted the integration of Seal of Arts

032Excellence portfolios into their defenses of learning. I, along with board member Green, Ms. Lawler, and other significant university and professional arts organization partners, had the distinct honor of serving on a review committee for these defense of learning sessions. Most impressively, these students were able to bridge the gap between their arts discipline and their future. They clearly articulated how the discipline, resilience, and creative problem-solving implicitly or explicitly acquired through the arts will translate directly into their next steps. Be it in collegiate environments or their professional careers, arts-related or otherwise. This is FCPS's future and life-ready promise in action. Proving that our portrait of a graduate is a tangible, lived reality for our students who have earned the Seal of Arts Excellence. Here to talk more about how the Seal of Arts Excellence embodies FCPS's portrait of

033a graduate is Janeway Howard from Lafayette High School. Hello, I am Janeway Howard, a senior at Lafayette High School, and I had acquired the Seal of Arts Excellence for vocal music. Um through the Seal of Arts Excellence, I was able to reflect on my musical achievements throughout my high school career. Um and that was competitions that I did nationally, locally. Um and I just recently um did the All-State competition that she was talking about, um which is a full tuition scholarship ship to the University of Kentucky plus $10,000. So, I have decided to continue my vocal journey as a vocal performance major at the University of Kentucky. And so, my finances for college have been able to be paid um by my singing, um which is amazing. And so, I had to reflect on all

034of these um musical experiences that I did throughout my high school career, um and had to create reflections for each component that was asked of the students. Um so, I had to um write about how this helped me as an artist, helped me as an individual. What skills did I learn? Um and through that reflection, um I realized that music was not just the art form that is going to be my career, but also helped me be a better academic student, a better um professional, and a better um friend, and community member in Lexington. Um and I was also also at Lafayette High School and part of the choir program as well as the theater program. And we perform in many different languages, Haitian, Spanish, French, and so much more, which shows that my school

035and all of the schools in Fayette County Public Schools are culturally engaged and culturally competent as our choir teacher and our theater teacher have gone through the translations of texts, have shown the meaning of why we are singing these songs, and have broadened our students' horizons, especially at my school, for better learning of different cultures and communities that we might not have been involved with if we had not been in the arts specifically. Um and also students were also asked to write responses about their skills that they've acquired as an individual in the arts. And for me specifically, the skills that I've learned are leadership and how to be a better musician, how to write well written responses for college and academic programs through the Seal of Arts Excellence. Um and we had to create

036a portfolio as you saw in a few slides back. Um and we had different components that we had to make and we had um This is my friend Nila McDonald presenting hers, but for my vocal portfolio you had to say what competitions you did, what programs you did over the summer. And so one program specifically was the Washington National Opera Institute at the Kennedy Center this past summer I attended, which showed that I was a lifelong learner. I wasn't just participating in programs in Fayette County. I was going out into the world and going out into our nation's capital in pursuing the arts and pursuing what I love to do which is to sing. And this shows that I was future in life ready as well as I had to go to an intensive to

037hone my craft and this propels me into my future of singing. As I want to be a professional opera singer with contracted companies the seal of arts excellence was kind of just a way for me to reflect on my experiences and to present my experiences at that defense of learning to my community and to you all as well to my Fayette County Public Schools community and show that the arts are really impactful to students all across Fayette County. Not just we are participating for the arts credit or because we're in the SCAPA program for a grade but because we want to be doing this in our community. We want to be participating in the arts. I have known for a while that I have been wanting to be a professional musician. This is maybe not

038the most secure job in the field that we might have but it is something that I have chosen no matter how hard it is and no matter how much effort I have to put in which shows that the arts are a major need for the students. So the seal of arts excellence really just helped me present my love for my craft and showed that the portrait of a of a graduate closely aligns with the arts. And so all of our different aspects of Fayette County Public Schools can work together to support the arts. >> [applause] >> Thank you Jane Way. Um and so looking forward to next year, we do have a variety of student-centered performances that you can look forward to. Those will be posted on our district website. Uh the direct link to

039ours is go.fcps.net/finearts, but it's also on the calendar came in and does a great job of pulling those over and sharing those with our community on just the uh main uh district calendar. The most um um uh the closest one to us in in the future is the Seussical district-wide musical which will be hosted at Frederick Douglass High School. We have students from throughout the district who will be participating in that. We also look forward to increase professional learning throughout the district in collaboration with our arts organizations as we look forward alignment with our local accountability accountability models and just continuing the excellent arts education that we're able to provide to our students. I would like to thank uh the district instructional specialist fine uh for the fine arts, Kelly Mayes, who um has been

040working with us on music and theater. David Fonda, who works with um band, general music, and dance. Uh Rachel Lash, who works with visual art K-12. Um they have been an instrumental part in making all of these things happen and I truly appreciate them. Huge shout-out also to Vernon, who um has made these amazing uh videos for us all year. Thank you very much for your attentiveness and for your support of the arts in Fayette County Public Thank you all so much for sharing with us. It's an excellent overview and it's hard [clears throat] to keep track of when we attend individual things and so forth. It's uh it all uh adds up. So, it's uh truly an incredible incredible opportunities for our students. Um and we're grateful for the staff that make that possible.

041Uh, any questions, Board member? Board member Green. I just want to say, Damaris, it's an honor to hear you speak about your experience, about your goals, about what you've achieved so far, and I'm so honored that you are part of Faith Christian Academy. And I'm honored that you're with us right now as one example of our 41,000 students who are finding who they are and being able to Thank you for taking the time so eloquently to share your My one question is, as you were developing your portfolio and the work for the Seal of Arts Excellence, was there something that having to look at the entirety of your work that surprised you that you did so early on that resonates all the way through your Yeah, so a specific example of that would be, um,

042my sophomore year, actually. Um, I won the National uh, Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and this was my second ever competition, um, that I have done, um, and I won first place there, um, and that kind of, um, catapulted me into competition singing. Um, but that's an experience that I kind of, at the beginning of my culmination of all the things I was doing, wanted to incorporate into my Seal of Arts Excellence to show where I was in my sophomore year to where I am now. And all throughout my Seal of Arts Excellence portfolio, I have things from freshman year through senior year, um, which has shown the growth that I have been able to achieve, um, through my school and my community. Thank I have a former question. So, I always want to

043ask when the students come and they talk about these experiences, I always want to ask um, not just one specific teacher. First of all, once a general, always a general, so I know your choir teacher, and I know what he would have poured into you, but the question is, can you speak to long-term, can you speak to the importance of having those instructors who don't just teach you, but embrace your vision and what you want to do, and how having those people surround you and really support you? Can you share how important that is to keep your vision intact? Of course. So, um I've had uh my voice teacher um as at the University of Kentucky. Um but I started at SCAPA in fourth grade. And I studied uh music and choir under Amanda Wells

044there, and then she transitioned into my high school. She teaches the freshman class, and so I worked with her through fourth grade through high school. And then I transitioned to Laura Howard, Ryan Marsh, Joseph Wright and over there. Um but they didn't just teach me how to sing. They didn't teach me the notes and rhythms. Of course, that was part of the curriculum, but they showed me how to be an artist. Um and because of the extensive repertoire that we had um in our program and the intense um training that Mr. Marsh expects of us every single day, I was able to prepare myself for college um and be able to prepare myself for UK choir and stuff like that. Um but these teachers I couldn't have done it myself. I couldn't have got to

045where I am. I could not have won all-state competition to pay for UK without the support of Mr. Marsh, without the support of Amanda Wells and Laura Howard. And they didn't just teach me, you know, how to sing. They taught me how to be an individual. And I'm president of my choir um right now as a senior, and so choir has a allowed me to have a channel for leadership in my school. Um which she has allowed me to I just recently started the Lafayette choir senior night. Um so I've been able to continue my leadership skills through choir and through the support of the teachers giving me an opportunity to show my leadership skills um as well as supporting my ideas and giving me a channel in which to um present choir to the

046entire school. So it's not just about, you know, one teacher that I might forget about in, you know, 2 or 3 years. I will continue to invite all of my teachers to come see the work um and to see my growth and how they created a foundation for me to continue through the arts as a career. Related uh to that question, can you speak to cuz obviously there are many students in your cohort working on the seal but in different disciplines and different areas. Um speak to the um collaboration that happens. Even though you're you're dealing with different field arts is a very broad net, right? Um so how do you learn from each other in the process even though you're all following your respective field disciplines? Yeah. So um Fayette County Public Schools Fine

047Arts has actually given us the opportunity to acquire two or more um seals of Seal of Arts Excellence in different disciplinary areas. So my friend Nila McDonald, who was just on the screen, um she acquired dance and visual arts. I have a few friends that acquired theater and voice or theater and tech theater. Um so you can do a combination of different things. I personally did not pursue two. Um I only went with one. Um but I know that many of my friends want to experience a bunch of the arts. One of my best friends, she was a dancer, and she just participated in um The Music Man at Lafayette for the first time. And that was the first time she was introduced into theater. Um I love to craft. I'm a very artsy person.

048I love to make I love to paint. I love to make cards. I love to do all that sort of stuff. Even though I don't participate in classes um for art, I like to participate outside of school. Um but because I have friends like Nela who was able to show me visual art skills um and help me through my art projects at home, I've been able to expand my horizons of not just voice, but I am in the theater department. I take theater classes. Um and I have my hobbies, my biggest hobby, which is art. Um I also play piano. Um I also love to write and um to I'm in AP literature and Lang. So, it's just all of the different um arts areas make me who I am as an artist as a

049performer. Um not just a singer, but as a um entity as a artist. Um and so, the collaboration among peers, especially growing up through SCAPA since fourth grade, I've been able to really hone um be able to really dip my toes in each of the uh pools of the art um through not just an art school, but through my community and through my friends and through my Thank you so much. Thank you. Former admin. Thank you so much for this presentation. I'm really impressed by the increased numbers in encourage students to apply for the seal. Um I know you mentioned several things, community partnerships, but are there any other strategies or supports that kind of helped aid the to ramp up um students seal so Um each school has a Seal of Arts Excellence Lead,

050and we meet with those leads giving them support as they need at each school. They know they can always contact the fine arts department with questions or with help, um, anything that they need. So, I think it's the I think it's the collaboration between the district level and those school leads with their students and staff at the school as well. We also, um, have our PD hub that we do our fine arts hub in the summer, and we do sessions on Seal of Arts Excellence giving examples, um, and showing our students and staff what what a portfolio could look like and helping them with direction in that. And moving forward with local community models, um, having the, uh, professional arts organizations leadership come into the pilot defensive learning that Lafayette, um, invited us to. We

051had, um, Lexington Chamber Music, uh, Lexington, um, uh, Theatre Company. We had, uh, professor from Transy. We had a variety of, uh, professionals in the industry who came in to learn from our students about our students. And I I firmly believe that increasing that sort of engagement, um, to to showcase what the students are are doing will help with, uh, recruitment on their end, but also with, uh, putting our students out there and really helping them to engage with the professionals in the industry. Thank you. Any further questions? Thank you all. Meeting adjourned. >> [applause] >> Thank you all so very much. Um, following the superintendent's report at our action meeting later this month, there will be an opportunity for the public, uh, to comment on items on the agenda. After public comment on the

05221st, we will move on into the consideration of certain consent agenda items. Those items include the following. Uh, Tonight, our chief operating officer, Dr. Myron Thompson, is available to answer any questions you have about the awards, the bids, and proposals. Mr. Murphy. Remember Murphy. Thank you. There are several bids and renewals of contracts for insurances. [clears throat] If not at this time, cuz I didn't ask this question for you here, but if you can provide the board a percentage increase or decrease for those, just so we kind of have an idea of where that is in the landscape of past cost and current. Certainly, and I will point out that when we did go to bid, there were only like one responder for some of these. So, the the market is pretty tough right now,

053but we'll be glad to get you that information, for sure. >> so much. >> [clears throat] >> Any further questions? Mr. Murphy. Remember Mundy. Um, do you know when we'll see the nursing contract bid? Will that be next month? I believe so. Nursing. Nursing contract. >> Yes, we're not bidding the nursing contract this year. >> the renewal, I should say. >> Oh, the renewal. Yes, that should be it. >> I was thinking. Yeah, but there's not a bid, yeah. >> Mhm. Mr. Collins. Thank you, board members. Um, our interim chief financial officer can address any questions you have regarding the special and other leaves of absences. Any questions for Mr. Collins? All righty, we will also have the board to approve the 2027-2028 proposed instructional calendar. I would like to invite Steve Hill back to

054present that item and answer any questions you may have regarding that calendar. And while you're preparing, just a reminder that we're We always do this 1 year ahead. So, this is not We've already approved next year's instructional calendar. This is the 27-28. Good evening again. Tonight with the 27-28 calendar, thank you for denoting that. This is 2 years out, but we we do that for our community to make sure everybody has what they need for planning, so the first slide Okay. Do I have the wrong clicker? I don't know. I'll pass it to our >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. All right. First slide. So, this is just kind of want to cover this. This is an instructional calendar guiding principles. Now, I'm not going to read every one of these, so that just you

055don't have to worry about that, but do want to point out this is the guiding principles that were board blessed. Honestly, it's been double digits now, probably 10-12 years ago that they were reviewed. The purpose of this is to provide consistency, so when we drop in the specific year we drop in these these elements to the calendar so that so it's predictable. So, we don't have variances from year to year. And so, you'll see that reflected on the the following slides here. This is our instructional calendar committee. Statutorily established in the same KRS that I mentioned earlier. And those are the you'll see we do have additional members. Due to the size of our district, we have different representations, but but that that's our calendar committee. And I want I do want to thank Dr.

056Mundy by the way, she serves on this and and Ms. Green did as well, and I appreciate you. But thank you, Dr. Mundy, for for participating. This is the draft. And what you'll see and I have some things some notes on the side that I just want to highlight a couple of points. I'm not going to again read all of this, but the first day of school that year will be August 11th. So, if you'll remember in the we we did discuss in previous years and it we moved that to what used to be called day four and it never really landed on day four, but it's the second week of school where that Friday it's the August 20th date. The committee wanted to go back to having that as an off day, thought it

057was really important for student uh uh rolling into the school year, starting out with 3-day week, 4-day week, 5-day week. Um also, we do find it beneficial to plan. So, if we have to uh rearrange classrooms due to growth or whatever the case might be, we can we have that day to kind of recalibrate our buildings as well. So, you'll notice we've added that back into the calendar. Um fall break, Thanksgiving and winter break all fall comfortably within a two um in a between and uh well, October's not split it's not split in October's my point. So, last year we I think we had a little bit of fall break into September and October. So, and um and you'll see we have a nice break there as well for winter it just fell naturally at

058the end of of December. Um the one thing I do want to point out is in the second semester the makeup days. So, we had because we missed 10 days this year, we have to build that into this calendar. And the this specific discussion, just want to cover this cuz this was we discussed this in pretty detail was the March 17th day whether to use it as some there were some on the committee that didn't want to use it. We surveyed it out and um the last I checked it was 12 to two wanted to keep that as an optional day for makeup. And the language to to find a medium road to agree on, the consensus was uh SCPS will determine by President's Day whether to use March 17th as a weather makeup day.

059And I think we did that this year we're real close to that if not. And then you'll see the last day of student for students is May 24th. And again, we have 10 proposed makeup days that were missed this year that we have to build into the calendar. Um does anybody have any questions? Any questions, board members? Camera. Board member Green. I have one. The instructional guiding principles, is that available on the website? You know, I don't know. I don't think it is, honestly. But we can we can make it available. I think that'd be great. I have a lot of conversation about why is the decision made. >> And I have that knowledge because I served on the committee, but I thought it might be good to have available for a wider I think

060it'd be great. And we've had to tweak it a little bit when we went to like the full full fall break, we obviously had to change that language. So, it's one of those it's kind of a flexible document, but we certainly can keep that updated. I think that's a great idea. And I think you could denote that on the document that it is flexible. I will. Yeah, depending on whatever whatever eclipse or anything. >> [laughter] >> Thanks. >> Yeah, there are going to be exceptions, of course. Yeah. Any other questions, board members? Um thank you, Mr. Hill, for leading the charge on the calendar committee and making it so easy Thank you. for us to be able to have those conversations. I did for March 17th just want to point out that um uh big

061sticking point of the conversation was just um parents, teachers, everyone being able to know what's going to happen with that day early because sometimes you know, there might be um a camp that my older kids go to to be able to go to things of that nature. I think knowing about President's Day will allow parents and teachers um to decide um caregivers what to do, but also business. I agree. Thank you. Any other questions, board members? Uh Okay. Thank you. Have a good night. >> be up for consideration at the May action meeting. Yes. Thank you, Ms. Reed. Thank you, board members. Uh at this time I'd like our interim chief financial officer, Keena Cole, to review the agenda items regarding a capital fund request quest for fiscal year 2026. Keena? Um you've seen these

062capital funds re- requests before. Um as you know, the the board has been very generous in allowing us to have more money in our building fund than we actually need right now for debt service. Um so this is our attempt to use some of those funds on some of the items that are allowed under the um KDE guidance for capital fund requests. Any questions, board members? Yeah, I'm happy. Board member Reed? So just for clarification, I think you said it. This um transfer of funds would not inter- interrupt any debt service. No. No. Thank you. Board member Reed? I did have a question about portable classroom. Um is that the typical portable classrooms, like the yearly renewal, or is this for a new um classroom this It's It's yearly renewal. Okay. Any other questions? All

063righty. Thank you, board members. And Keena, the consent agenda is for the 21st will also include renewal of our sports medicine services agreement with the University of Kentucky. If you have any questions about that, our district athletic director, Jackie Gordon Duvall, is available to respond. Any questions for Duvall? Board member Fischer? Just a general question about uh sports medicine in general. Um >> [clears throat] >> assuming that middle and high. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Um and the other thing is as the mom of a former basketball player as well as a bandy, um this is for my clarification and also for future. Um during summer like during band camp and also football was there and multiple athletic organizations were there. Um can band students access Um our our current sports medicine services do not cover band.

064Um obviously they're they're first responders, so if something were to happen, I'm sure that they would call, you know, use our ATs and call 911 and those things of that nature, but band is not covered in this these services. Right. Um so if that were something that we would need to add down the road, we'd have to, you know, consult with UK about how to probably add individuals to the contract to support that. And would KHSAA have to be involved as well? No. Okay, thank you. One question I have and and I'll be asking this on a number of these on the agenda. Did we were we able to have a conversation? I know this is a renewal, but did we have a conversation evaluating uh price and identifying ways of cost save? Um yes,

065so um there there is an increase um in this renewal for this year. And so we did um consult with UK directly about cost savings and where um we really felt like what we were we what we were receiving currently is optimal optimal service that covers all of our high schools, all of our middle schools, every sport um at a level that really just a it's really exceptional. And so um what what we're seeing however though, is that any sort of cut to that could just put us at risk for not having the coverage that we really need for our sports. Um and I think that because UK is providing 12 full-time individuals, um you know, and and at at for for us, you know, that cost is is half of what they're actually paying

066um their individuals. And so, um so what we're receiving is really an exceptional service. What we also tried to do during this process of this renewal this year is look at some other um companies that organizations that offer athletic training. Reached out to um two that are locally here um Bluegrass Orthopaedics um as you guys are probably aware of them, Court Physical Therapy. And unfortunately, none of them were able to respond with the services that we need to cover all of our um sports right now or all of our schools. They simply don't have the capacity to do so right now. And so, although uh we would hope that uh we could get something that would not be as uh pricey for us, we we simply need these services. Um we we simply have to

067continue to offer them for our student athletes for their safety. Um and so, so right now there are no other organizations that can cover us. Um but I think in the future, if there's an opportunity to bid, uh there may be some others that could come in and um help us to figure out maybe some more affordable ways to to get the services that we need for all of our student athletes. Um I do know that, you know, UK has a a very um comprehensive coverage because they also have the clinic here. And so, all of our students are able to go to that clinic uh whenever they need to go for uh injury prevention as well as immediate um services that they need um for for sports injuries, sports-related injuries. Um also, UK is

068providing physicians at every single one of our home football games. That was one of the things that um I really felt like, you know, I I communicated we communicated those things to other organizations, and that's not something that can be done in Lexington without UK right now. And so, that was something that I I really thought was just like I said, optimal coverage for us. Um they're really above above standard. And so, um and so, we're really we're really happy with our relationship with UK uh sports medicine. Um we've had them for many years. Um and I do believe that at this point in time, as we're renewing this contract, this is a a very good deal for us. Um we're in a really good situation with them. And I believe moving forward uh we

069can look at other options. Um that would would um you know, hopefully be comparable, but may not may not may not be what we're we're actually receiving with UK. Thank you. Welcome. Any other questions? Thank you, board members. Um our next eight items are contract renewals for instructional resources. Uh as a reminder, when these resources were originally brought forward last year, significant efforts were made uh to carefully negotiate and reduce the overall cost, resulting in substantial savings for the district. Tonight, we're presenting the renewal of these of those original contracts that were successfully successfully negotiated down at that time. If you have any questions about those resources that will be used for elementary, uh we have our elementary teaching and learning uh director Grant Davis and our secondary teaching and learning um director Leonard Johnson,

070and they could field all of those questions for you. Thank you. One of my questions was going to be what you answered is the extent to which these were renegotiated. Uh may I ask another? And that is um when we evaluated our investments in these instructional resources, um what type of data did we look at in making those decisions? Number one, and then number two, what type of feedback did we get from our educators who were implementing these resources each day? Uh thank you, board member. Uh So, one level of that is just uh making determinations about how these are used and what's being used seeing ways that we can make uh changes to the contract. Uh consumables comes up with that. Done some some work trying to determine uh where exactly we uh you

071know, we think about that. And then we are we're on a a cycle also when it comes to these resources. So, I think we're entering year three and the ones in the current contracts for uh this upcoming year, and then uh we will be um as we go through the next couple years, we'll be going through a process again to be looking at were these successful enough for the course of these five or six years, and then um you know, going back to the process again uh for reading and math in particular, which is what these are under. And then I and are the educators implementing them are part of those process. Yes, sir. Any further questions, board member? Thank you all. Thank you, board members. Our next four items deal with the I'm sorry,

072I skipped. On the 21st, we'll also be approving the um contracts with Safely to provide cameras, our GPS system, and our routing software software for our school buses. Um you will notice that there are both a post approval and an approval on the agenda for the 21st. Uh that was an oversight for the contract being up for renewal in March, and those two approvals will be put on the the schedule to reflect the fiscal year moving forward in the future. If you have any questions, our transportation director, Darren Tomp Darren Morris is available to answer your question. Any questions for Morris for Mr. Clark? Thank you, board members. Our next items four items deal with the declaration of surplus for several items and property at this time. Uh Myron Thompson can provide additional information and

073answer any questions that you have about this proposal. I'm agreeing. Thank you. My question is on the declaration of surplus for the buses. And so is it Is it a good number of buses that look like they're going to go to us? What does that affect our current or do we have enough for our students where they need to Certainly. We've been on a 14-year replacement cycle, and you see that many of these are 15 years and beyond. So just because we hit the 14-year mark, it doesn't mean that we automatically get rid of that bus. If it's still serviceable and functioning, we keep it online. But as you can tell, these buses are aging out, and so we want to go ahead and make the declaration to move them as they age out. It

074doesn't mean that we're going to get rid of them all at once, but as our new buses are coming in, we've made some purchases about 18 months ago that still haven't arrived. So as buses come in, we're trading them out, but we had to have this declaration to sort of offload those once we get in that position. Thank you for that. Yes, ma'am. Are there any fraternities or sororities in town who are looking for a school a used school bus? Yeah. Any other questions for them. Talk with them. Thank you, board members and Myron. Um Our next four consent items are related to current facility projects and initiative. Uh Myron again, as well as Melinda Joseph Dezearn, our director of facility design and construction, can respond to any questions you have about those. Any questions

075for Myron? Ron first. Well, yes. I mean, in general, how was it decided that these would be declared surplus and was this discussed by the LPC? I mean, isn't this normally a function of the LPC? In terms of the surplus properties? Yes. Uh no, ma'am. Uh that is a board decision. So, uh any of these properties that are excess to our instructional needs, for the most part, uh the board has the ability to declare those as surplus and to move those forward. Uh this is really just the initial step. That's sort of what we did with Southside. Once that program came online, that building was vacant. Uh this allows us to sort of front-load the due diligence and things of that nature. Uh once we've have information to present to the board in terms what

076these properties could be used for, that would come back to the board for consideration as to whether or not you want to make that decision, but the LPC does not have anything to do with the actual uh property portfolio for surplus. So, not Well, not all of these are vacant. Right? From an instructional standpoint, they will be. Two of them, uh from an operational standpoint, we still have some programming, some housing. Uh we have some of our own internal uh operations that are taking place uh at uh Liberty I mean, at the Main Street. Uh we have some partnerships with J A and others at the the Spur Road location. So, those are all the things that we would have to evaluate with our due diligence in terms of how we would handle our operations

077and our partnerships. Uh the Women's Clothing center, another uh partnership that we have at Main Street, uh things of that nature as well. >> Well, that was going to be a question also about JA, but I guess that you're saying that premature at this point. >> Yes, ma'am. We we we would have to have a discussion with them. Spoke to their executive director last week uh just to have a brief conversation, but before we would bring anything to the board, we would have that discussion fleshed out and sort of have a plan of action. Thank you. Mhm. Thank you. Former member of the And so, this is just declaring them surplus. We'll get the decisions or thought process of how those can possibly [clears throat] be used at a later date. I was wondering about

078how this would fit in with right-size right futures, cuz I know we're going to we're going to get recommendations there, and I didn't want to prematurely do something before we hear back. Yes, ma'am. That's correct. As you know, the the BG process is what the state uses for sort of filing typically property acquisitions and buildings. So, we have to complete the same paperwork for leases, for disposal. So, this sort of initiates the process. It allows us to to line up all of our due diligence in terms of getting surveys, appraisals, perhaps a realtor to have discussions, things of that nature. But before we would bring anything or or do anything, we have to have the board's buy-in and input. So, we would have a discussions with you. As you know, real estate is one of

079the few things that we can go in closed session for, so there are some confidenti- confidentiality things there in terms of appraisals and valuations and what may be happen, but we would want to have a comprehensive plan for one or all of the properties depending on what the board may want to do. And and to that note, it's this is essentially approval of these BGs would simply just open up the number of options available to the board as we move forward um as former member indicated. This is the a BG is an initial step. BG one is an initial step. It's not a commitment. Nor is it a statement saying that we would dispose of these buildings or we would sell these buildings or these properties. It's just uh keeping the board's options available. Is

080that correct? >> Y- Yes, sir. And it allows us to perform due diligence and to have things ready whenever the board may make a decision this year, next year, whenever. It shortens the timeline cuz as you know, these things can kind of draw out. So, it just puts us in a position to move whenever the board decides it's time to move. And my understanding is absent that initial action, it ties the hands of the district. We can't even pursue the possibility. Is that correct absent this declaration? Is that correct? >> So, yes, sir. We we need sort of some guidance from the board that to go ahead and move forward with this. Okay. Any One more first. Thanks. I I found it. I thought it was on at least one of these. The On the

081executive summary for the Spur Road under the rationale and this might just be an editing issue, but I guess it kind of irks me cuz it says the liquidation of real estate and other assets was a recommendation made by the budget solutions work group this summer to address the budget shortfall. And that was last summer. And we've been told that that what that group was assigned to do, that shortfall has been eliminated already. So, I guess I just don't like seeing that there as the as a rationale for these properties and I'm not sure if it's it's not on the Main Street one, but it is on the Spur Road one. I think the same um considerations are available to the board in terms of evaluating our portfolio, continuing to maintain facilities that could perhaps

082be consolidated. So, again, it doesn't commit the board to actually taking any action, but I think as we continue to make investments and 701 is an aging facility. If you've been in Northworthy lately, you probably can't get in there because we've actually taken it offline. So, there's going to have to be literally millions of dollars of investments in some of these facilities if we're going to continue to operate. So, I think just having the information available to the board to evaluate all the considerations doesn't necessarily bind the board into selling a property, but it at least gives you I think a full picture of kind of what the facilities look like and what would be needed. I understand. Thank you. I just don't think the the rationale listed there still exists, but thank you. Mr.

083Money. Um one more question. This may be in the park before first, but is the revenue for the tentative budget in the sale of any of the Um actually, the tentative budget is built on receiving some some income from the sale of buildings. Do we know how much? I mean, the the budget in in the tentative budget, I think it's it's around $3 million. >> 2.8. And the same was done in the prior budget, is that correct? For the South side, yes. And I think it was $4 million that was allotted for that and thankfully, we got more than that on the sale, but Right. The the reason there's there's only $3 million built in right now is because we have no appraisals on any of these properties [clears throat] and and we don't know

084what the will of the board would be even if we had an appraisal. Um so, we'll talk more about that when we get into the tentative budget, but but the budget is balanced on the sale properties. Thank you. I mean, I'm glad that it's very conservative number, so. Any further questions? Dr. Liggins. Thank you, board. Um, members, our final consent item um for later this month is the tentative budget for each school's activity fund. If you have any questions regarding that, Keenan can also answer those questions. Any questions, board members? Thank you. That concludes our consent items for the 21st. Uh, we also have several action items for you later this month. First, we have representatives from two companies that would like the board to consider industrial revenue bond agreements. This time, I will ask

085um Tracy Bruno to introduce our guests. Good evening, board members. Superintendent [clears throat] Liggins, October 9th, 2025, the Urban County Council approved the use of industrial revenue bonds for housing development, especially workforce housing. Updates to the industrial revenue bond policy were approved by the Urban County Council on October 9th. Industrial revenue bond regulations require that the project promote job creation or demonstrate that economic development directly results from the proposed project. The bonds can be lower interest rates for developers. The updated policy now includes criteria that allow industrial revenue bonds to be used for certain housing developments inside the urban service boundary. Under the updated guidelines, the projects must be mixed use with the creation of jobs on the property. Receive a to receive a 15-year leaseback industrial revenue bond incentive, at least 20% of the

086proposed housing units must qualify as affordable housing, meaning the units must be available to households earning less than 80% of the area median income. Or to receive a 10-year leaseback industrial revenue bond incentive, at least 20% of the proposed housing units must qualify as workforce housing, meaning that the units must be available to households earning 80.1 to 120% of the area area median income, excuse me. This means individuals can earn up to 20% above the area median income still qualify for work workforce housing. As part of the bond process, developers negotiate a pilot or payment in lieu of taxes agreement with certain public taxing entities. This is a negotiated payment agreement requiring the developer to make payments to the local government instead of regular property taxes. Developers must have pilot agreements with Fayette County Public

087Schools, LexTran, and the Lexington Public Library before FUCG will enter into an industrial revenue bond contract with the developer. The first pilot proposal and before I move to the introduction, I want to say this is completely a board decision. Um I have met with and and spoken with the developers, but the the district has given no, you know, uh direction one way or the other. This is completely up to up to the board. The first pilot proposal you'll hear tonight comes from Related Affordable. This proposal focuses on the redevelopment of Rose Tower Apartments located between Main Street, Vine Street, and Rose Street. Sam Schoberg is here to give a presentation on behalf of Related Affordable. Good evening, board, and thank you for having me. My name is Sam Schoberg. I'm with Related Affordable. Uh I've

088been with Related Affordable for roughly 12 years, 10 of those working in affordable housing. And I'm here today to talk to you guys about Rose Tower and our our plan for the property. Uh so quickly, who we are because we are new to the state of Kentucky. Uh we are a national, New York-based affordable housing owner-operator. We have an extensive portfolio of affordable housing throughout the country, 55,000 units in more than 20 states. We have basically done projects in every neighboring state to Kentucky except for West Virginia. And actually, our company was founded as an affordable housing developer in the 1970s. And so our mission statement is dedicated to preserving and improving existing affordable housing communities, delivering high-quality living environments, while securing long-term affordability for residents. And something that we always bring up is that

089we have never taken a unit out of affordability in our company's history. Uh so, the project we're here to speak about is the acquisition of Roosevelt Tower Apartments. And And Tracy gave a a very nice introduction on the project. Uh so, this project is located in the downtown central business district. What we are proposing and what we've been working on for the last 2 years is an application to Kentucky Housing Corporation for an allocation of tax-exempt bonds and 4% low-income housing tax credits. So, what that will do if we are awarded, and that application actually is coming due at the end of May, and we would have uh some feedback on that application by the end of July, uh is is preserve affordability for 100% of the units in the property. So, this is a

090168-unit all one-bedroom. 120 of the units are subsidized by project-based Section 8 and reserved for seniors, 62 plus or residents with permanent disability. The other 48 units are currently market. And so, those units would be introduced affordability restrictions on top of the 120 that are subsidized. In terms of the subsidy, we would be submitting to HUD, which actually went in this week, an application to renew the the project-based rental assistance for a period of 20 years, which is the longest allowable by HUD. And there would be a slew of other benefits to related acquiring this property. So, when we were coming into a new market, the first thing that we did was reach out to the city offices who were more than happy to take a meeting with us because they do not like the

091way that this property has been owned and operated for, you know, however long that it's been on their radar. And it's on their radar for all the wrong reasons. So, Related Affordable, we take over management of this property. And then, we would also be able to, with the assistance of the of the board, the assistance of KFC, complete a very comprehensive renovation of this property. So, there are properties within the Related Affordable portfolio that we originally developed in the '70s and '80s that we still own. And we are long-term owners of affordable housing. So, when we buy new properties or new to us, we put in very extensive capital dollars to make sure that those properties are in good shape for the foreseeable future. And so, I can certainly get into the the breadth of

092the scope, but I know that that may bore this board, and you got you can actually certainly ask us questions at the end of the presentation. So, community >> meetings before? I'm just kidding. I'm just I said, "Have you been to prior board meetings?" I'm I'm just We're used to extended presentations. I know you're fine. You're fine. Thank you. >> Okay. Get as far into the weeds as you need to be. Sure. Sure. >> And you know, you're fine. Sure. Folks folks may be interested. So, uh you know, $56,000 a unit. So, what is What does that mean? So, in the kitchens, we'd be doing cabinets, countertops. Every resident will get new Energy Star appliances. In the bath, it'd be replacement of the tubs and surrounds. Like I said, this is predominantly a senior building,

093so we'd be installing grab bars, um new vanities. There'd be flooring and painting throughout. That's in the units and in the common areas. Speaking of the common areas, we would update the office, the community room, the fitness center, uh the laundry area. There'd be landlord-paid Wi-Fi for the residents in their units and in the common areas, which would be a brand-new amenity here. And that's a a standard for related affordable renovations. And then some of the boring back of house items, you know, we'd be doing a full HVAC replacement, the elevator cabs, uh the existing boilers, which are dated and working seemingly half the time. And we'd be adding a backup generator, which property currently does not have. So, if power goes down in this building, the residents are not able to use the elevators,

094which is a huge problem in a senior building. So, uh a little bit on the why. So, I mentioned speaking with the city earlier, they're really excited about somebody coming in and doing the right thing by the residents here and taking care of this building. Um but we're talking about securing low-income housing in a downtown central business district. And for folks who not are not familiar through Section 8, the resident there is paying 30% of their individual income. Whether that income is zero or all the way up to 80% of AMI, it's sort of a formula. So, it's affordable for all. The other 48 units I talked about would be restricted under KHC at 60% of AMI, and there would be a maximum rent that we could charge at that level. I can tell you

095right now those market rate units are being marketed at roughly 900 to 950 dollars, and that would not change substantially after we acquire the property. Um addition of amenity spaces for the residents, so the resident experience at the property is going to be way, way better than what they have now, and also security improvements. So, this is in downtown central business district. Access control is almost zero. You can pretty much walk up to this property and walk through the front gate at any time. Not great for any apartment rental building. So, we'd be looking to add key fob access, improving the camera systems. Typically, we or always we add DVRs, but typically we reach out to the local PDs to see if they want remote access to those cameras, and also improving interior and exterior

096lighting. Um so, to get down to the dollars and cents, um and Tracy gave an introduction on on IRB and how that's been recently recently expanded to include affordable housing. So, we are proposing or applying for with the city the leaseback structure, which is 15 years. That will essentially take the property off the tax roll, which is why we need to enter into a pilot agreement with each of the various taxing jurisdictions, including the school. And so, what we are proposing is an immediate increase to current taxes. It's not on this slide, but in 2025, uh property taxes from this building, particularly to the school district, were roughly 44,000. That's actually an increase over the prior 3 years, 2024, 2023, 2022, when taxes were $37,000. So, we are proposing a an upfront impact fee which

097would be paid at closing of 195,000 which is roughly five times current taxes and then year one payment starting at 65,000 and increasing annually by 3%. And then at the end of the term of this agreement, the property taxes would result revert back to sort of the market mechanism where the the assessor would assess the building and the applicable tax rates at that time would dictate what the taxes would be on an annual basis. But further and in discussion with Tracy and trying to present something that this board would find agreeable, we have built in what I'm going to call a true up mechanism into the proposed agreement. So, basically every year we would calculate what the taxes would have otherwise been absent this agreement. We would provide that in a statement to the board

098and we would agree to it on a yearly basis and then at the end of 15 years, if the pilot schedule of payments plus the impact fee were less than what the market taxes would have been, there will be a true up between Related Affordable and the school board. I don't know if there's a video here and I don't know if it will play. Um but anyway, so obviously we are new to the state of Kentucky. Uh we were also new to the state of Delaware and this just is one example of Related Affordable executing on a very similar project. I picked this one because if you can tell that the construction type is very similar to that of Ross Tower. This was a project called Luther Towers. 362 units of senior affordable housing high-rise

099just like Ross Tower. Um that that front building there, there are 226 apartments and there some studios, mostly one beds. There's a building in the middle-ish was another 136 units. Uh Uh, this was a very similar rehab right around the tune of $56,000 a door, which is what we're proposing at Rose. It was about a $20 million construction project. It took 12 months with um full relocation of all the residents. They went to local hotels. Uh, those costs were covered by Related Affordable. The same thing would be happening at Rose Tower. Um, just a just to get into construction logistics a little bit. So, we typically work on a per floor basis on a high-rise. And so, we would start typically from top to bottom. We would move out the entire floor, renovate those apartments.

100That usually takes somewhere between two and three weeks. Residents would be relocated for that time at our expense. And then they would return home to their unit, which would then be renovated. And then we'd work our way down through the building. And that process would take about 10 to 12 months. And so, our request here tonight is for the board's support to enter into a pilot agreement under the industrial revenue bond program. It is going to facilitate the preservation of these 168 units of affordable housing in downtown Lexington. It will support low-income seniors on the 120 units. And then bring 48 units, which are currently unrestricted market units, under deep affordability at 60% of AMI. And it helps to promote an economically diverse downtown, which is extremely important in in every city in America, but

101also here in Lexington. And with that, I'll I'll take any questions. Thank you so much for the information. Any questions for members? Chairman Board member I have one for Mr. Now. And so, can you repeat in the beginning you talked about the different taxing entities? Do all of these different taxing entities have to agree? They do, Board member Green, but it doesn't have to be the same model agreement. Yeah. As long as there isn't an agreement between the taxing entity and the developer that they can move forward to the bonding phase with LFUCG. Is that information that can be shared with the board that if there is an agreement between the entity and taxing us? Do you want me to get you the the agreements with Lextran and the library? Is that what you're saying?

102Yeah, sure. And have those already been approved or are they just proposed? Uh the library has approved in form and so has the health department. Uh Lextran is pending along with some others, but we have actually been sharing the proposed pilot structures with all the groups and we've been very consistent in a we will if we are offering this to one, we will offer it to all. Uh and then I I left out one very important detail in my presentation. I'm sorry about that. Um for this board particularly, there there is not one student in the school district that lives at this property. Um just for your consideration. Obviously, we're talking about essentially a deferral of taxes over time. However, there's an immediate increase in the current in the tax revenue immediately, but there there

103are no students living at this property and those senior restrictions are going to come along in the new project as well. So, because we have product or all one-bedroom apartments here, that's really not going to change considerably over the foreseeable future. I thought that would be important to mention. Thank you. Uh more of a question. So, uh I'm thinking big picture long-term. Well, let me back up first. You all out of New York. And I understand how Section 8 works, but my question is uh if there are major issues with a unit or in this building, who do they who do they go to? And is that line clear? Or do are you going to have to beg five different people before they find out my HVAC isn't working and someone's going to have to

104come and fix it? And the second question is uh we dealing with HUD, we're dealing with federal monies and state funding. Do you foresee I'm not going to ask you if you foresee it. Should there be a concern where funding becomes an issue, what happens to this low-income affordable housing for those who maybe can't adjust if some funding is pulled from from from the federal level. But Sure. So I'll I'll take your second question first and I think that is a question about Section 8 potentially going away. Um so I mean we Related obviously has 50 years of experience in the affordable housing industry. We're very involved. We're very close to the affordable housing lobbyists. And there was a lot of public scare recently about the president's proposed budget to essentially eliminate project-based Section 8,

105but that that stuff is not happening. And there's there's really no there's no realistic future where this program up and vanishes. Um although it was proposed in the president's budget, but I I believe that was a little bit of political grandstanding, but that's really not my forte to comment on. And then in on your first question, there is an uh a management office within the property that is fully staffed. Um those staff members would come over to the Related Affordable family. They'll receive the national support of our training, of our centralized asset management, our centralized HUD team. Um so we would like to think that those employees become significantly more effective in their roles after they come to Related Affordable. And if they don't want to come along for the journey, then then we will

106find, you know, candidates to replace them, but our our goal is always to keep the existing employees. Um and to answer your question, I mean we we are a long-standing affordable housing owner. If you know a little bit of about HUD, once you get in trouble with HUD on one property, they make it a big deal for you across your entire portfolio. So, we have a lot at risk because we we work on somewhere between 20 and 30 of these types of projects per year, and HUD would not grant the requisite approvals for acquiring these types of buildings renewing the Section 8 half contract if you are on the HUD's naughty list, so to speak. Thank you. Uh related to that, I you noted that one of your commitments um would be to preserve the

107affordability of these properties. And we know [clears throat] that it again to former Christians' point, largely because of forces beyond the control of anyone in this room, um that costs are rising exponentially. So, is that commitment contingent on anything? Contingent on outside economic forces? Are there or are there contingencies in place um to uh acknowledge or adjust for volatility in the housing market? Sure. So, when you apply for and if you are granted these types of resources by entities like Kentucky Housing Corporation, you enter into deed restricted affordability requirements. So, regardless of if Related were to turn around and sell the building in year one, which is not something we could do for a number of reasons, those restrictions would go along with the property. They are part of the deed and record. Um so,

108it's not it's essentially impossible to exit the affordability during these compliance periods. So, even if the world were to go upside down, the building would remain as affordable housing. Um and so, there's multiple layers of those types of regulatory regulatory restrictions. We talked a little bit about HUD and the rental subsidy, but even if that were to go away and HUD were no longer involved in the project for some reason, Kentucky Housing Corporation would still be overseeing and there would still be a a recorded deed restriction. Thank you. Any other questions board members? Yeah, thank you. Board member Mims. Go ahead. Um the on the executive summary page there's is that the amount that we would get in taxes if we didn't enter the agreement? That is correct. Thank you. Over over what period of

109time? Sorry. This one's 15 years. So that the 1.4 million is over 15 years. Correct. >> Okay. I just have lots of different documents. Thank you. Yes. Any further questions board members? So just to confirm >> [clears throat] >> uh board member Green's request and that homework for Mr. Bruno, um receiving if the board could have a copy of the additional pilots made with the other entities and that will help inform the board's discussion decision-making forward. Any other requests for information board members on this particular project? Board member Mims. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Sam. >> for your consideration. >> Okay. The uh the next pilot presentation we hear tonight comes from UCD Midland. The proposal focuses on a mixed-use development on the corner of Midland and Winchester Road. Scott Shapiro and Andrew Gignilliat are

110here on behalf of UCD UCD Midland. Good evening. Uh thanks for having us here. Appreciate being on the agenda. My name is Scott Shapiro. Uh to my left is Andrew Gignilliat. We're part of the We are that Midland station project. Um what I want to talk to you about today? Uh Mr. Bruno gave a great overview of the program. Um we want to talk about who who we are, our project, uh little bit about the the program, uh >> [clears throat] >> the project the program as well, and uh and the pilot um that we're proposing. So, I uh I'm from Lexington. I'm uh raised three uh boys here. Uh all of them have gone through or are going through the uh Lexington public uh Fayette County public schools. Um my [clears throat] middle child

111was uh on the uh state champion uh varsity soccer team from Henry Clay last year. Uh just a little humble brag there. Um my wife grew up here, and she's a graduate of Henry Clay High School, and she's a a physician here in town. Um I worked in city government uh for um since I moved here uh or for 7 years uh after I moved here. Uh some of you may I may have met some of you um during that time. And what I saw was that uh Lexington really had trouble with infill development, right? It's something that uh the city's been talking about for uh really for as long as I've I've lived here. Um and what I saw is it was an opportunity to try to work on that uh when I left

112city government in the private sector. And boy, do we really need it, right? Everybody's seen the studies showing that there's about 22,000 uh units short uh housing units short in Lexington. This is a slide. This is a screen capture from the Herald Leader. There was an article a couple I hope I'm not violating any copyright issues by showing this. Um there's an article a couple weeks about uh rents in Lexington uh where the sixth had the sixth largest rate increase in the entire country last year. Right after New York City, the sixth largest. Uh that's really what happens when you have a a chronic uh shortage in housing. Um and that's one thing that Midland Station, that's what we're trying to trying to remedy. Um Mr. Brunner did a great job of of talking about

113the uh Lexington housing program. I just want to say that it was it was prompted by the the state. They had a uh housing um workforce uh a housing task force that came up with legislation last year to allow uh cities, not just Lexington, but uh all cities in the Commonwealth to be be used industrial revenue bonds for dense multi-family housing. Try to remedy this this shortfall that exists not just in in Lexington, but but across the Commonwealth. Um it can be used for affordable housing. It can be used for uh as Mr. Brunner said, for for workforce housing. Um and that's really the category that Midland Station is in. Um the program really creates uh a win-win situation where the Fayette County Public Schools and the taxing jurisdictions get increased revenue immediately um through

114a pilot uh over the years of the the pilot. Uh so, increased revenue uh from from the start. Um and Lexington gets sort of more housing units. Um so, the project was for the legislation was developed uh in conjunction with um representatives from school board uh from the sorry, from the uh Fayette County Public Schools and the library and LexArts all involved in the creation of this along with staff from the mayor and the council and the economic development team and some outside experts as well. One reason why they came up with this program is that you know, we're is that it's in use in many cities around the country. This is a program that cities my my colleague is from Kansas City where he's developed a number of apartment buildings. And has used this

115exact system there. It's a way that cities have figured out how to promote housing and increase tax revenue over time. Right now we're in the just the second stage of the the process for the program where we're asking you for an agreement on a for a a pilot agreement. After this we the project then is evaluated again by the economic development staff at the city. It goes to the economic development investment board. And then finally to the the city council. So there's a lot of eyes on on this on this um development and this proposed pilot over time. So just to tell you where we are, we are right next to the hill. It's a beautiful building. I have to say we're really excited to be right next to it on Midland on Midland Avenue.

116We love that this uh that this piece of land is at the confluence of three the three major urban trails the city has so the Town Branch Trail Legacy Trail and then the Brighton Legacy the Brighton Liberty Trail is we're accommodating that as it comes downtown and goes right across the the front of our property. And the hope is that folks can live here and may not need a car. They can walk maybe they work at the hill. Maybe they work downtown. They can walk. They can jump on a bus right in front of um the property or take a bike on Town Branch Commons. Um that's the goal of of um of this um this development. This is what it looks like today. Um some of you may remember this is the former Lexington

117Cutstone property. It's a vacant lot right now. It's about 3 uh 3.75 acres um on Midland [clears throat] Avenue as as you wrap around uh to to Winchester. And this is what it this is a rendering of what it would look like um after it was built. So again, 258 uh apartments geared towards um uh those with uh workforce level in So some of the community benefits um this is would represent an an immediate increase in in revenue for the Fayette County Public Schools. As you'll see in the um the next chart, we we double the amount um that uh the schools would be getting in the first year and it it ends up from there. Um and this would be one of the the densest um properties in Lexington. So the uh amount of

118revenue per acre from this parcel would be among the uh for the Fayette County Public Schools would be among the highest in the in the city. We the requirements of the program are that uh 20% at least 20% of the apartment uh be available for folks who are in that workforce category. So their incomes are between 80 and 100% of the area 120% of the area median income. Um but I'm here to tell you that it's uh that's not the way our our buildings were designed. They're uh the majority of the apartments will uh be affordable for those in that income category. One thing we've talked to um to Mr. Bruno about is can we make some of these apartments available for early stage teacher. Um and we're happy to do that. We're we're very

119willing and would love to have many teachers as we can fit in in in this building and we're happy to to work with Mr. Bruno or whoever he he designates or the superintendent designates to come up with a program to make sure that early stage teachers can afford to live in some of these in some of these units. So this chart shows that the pilot we've taken into account that the SEEK formula here. Um right now the property the parcels pay about less than $20,000 per year to the Fayette County Public Schools. Um so you see the orange bars across the bottom. That's if uh the development uh did not happen uh and it continued to to to exist the way it does today. Um but what we're proposing is a a doubling of that

120uh more than doubling of that at the start. So 45 um over 45,000 to to start trending up to nearly 150,000 by the 10th year uh of the pilot and then going on to the um full taxes which would be 250,000 or we estimate uh based on the uh the the PVA at the time uh 250,000 per year after the pilot ends. So we think this is a way to uh to dramatically increase the revenue that Fayette County Public Schools get from this downtown property while at the same time uh creating more housing for folks in Lexington. Um so we're here today to to ask that um you evaluate and and approve the pilot. So we really appreciate your your time today. We'd love to to answer any questions that you have about it. Thank

121you. While you have this slide up, one question I have, and maybe Mr. Burnett can answer this too, are these estimates based on or Miss Coke can answer, are these based on our estimates from from the district or were they have on what basis were these numbers calculated? Was it from the PVA? Was it from the school district? Combination of both? Sure, we worked with uh an attorney from Stulking and Ogden who does these kinds of agreements around the state of Kentucky who helped us put together this um this chart. It's based on a evaluation that we obtained through a Commonwealth Economics which is a third-party local um consulting firm here in Lexington. Thank you. Any other questions, board members? Yes. Board member I'm just curious about the timeline. I guess it has year one

122and when would when would be year one? Cuz I think almost two years ago this was briefly on our agenda for a while and um I thought it was going to Well, anyway, what's the timeline? I guess, you know, when do you expect to build and and I guess what has been the delay? Maybe All the all of the people you have to work it out with, maybe that's been the delay. Yeah, thank you for the question, board member Ferguson. Um we plan to start construction this year assuming that we obtain the IRB approval later this summer. And it's about a two-year construction period. So, the first year would be 2028 uh under that scenario. And the bonds that are actually issued are in that same year around the time this building is placed in

123service. And I'd say to answer your other question, which is why are we here two years later, it's a combination of really waiting for the city to put this program together in a way that made sense for us. And we're really happy that this group came together. The city, you know, didn't do anything special for us, but they put together a broad program that can work for affordable projects like we saw right before it to workforce housing projects like our own. You know, ones were new construction, they're renovation, but both can fit under the same program. Thank you. Yeah, for any agreement year one is the first year after completion date. So, once they can start, yeah, you know, residents in, that's year one. It's not construction, it's after the completion date. Board member Christian.

124So, when you say workforce portability and affordable housing, to me those are two different things. So, what is your definition of affordable? And what would that look like when you say workforce? Cuz the workforce is big, right? Teachers don't make what physicians make, and you have everything in between. So, what does that mean? Yeah. So, so workforce housing, we're using the the definition that both HUD and the um the city government is used to develop this program. So, that's uh if you have a if your income is uh between 80 and 120% of the area median income, then you fall into this workforce um housing category. And so, for it to be affordable, um there's that rule of 30% of your income. They look at 30% of your income. Um and no more uh that

125the that the rents are affordable for you. Um there's a slight uh uh decrease from that um taking into account utilities as well. Thank you. Board member Green. Thank you, Chair Murphy. Um I think just a simple question, but one I think that needs to be repeated. So, without the RRB approval, could you move forward? Fire away. So, we're here two years later because we feel like we need this approval to move forward on the project. Um it's been a a good experience working with the city on this, but this is a very challenging piece of property. It's oddly shaped. It was environmentally contaminated. Uh there was multiple easements related to railroads on the site. So, unlike what you would call maybe infield development, we face a lot more challenges. Um the this is the

126one tax incentive that we are requesting for this project. So, um other kinds of projects, including affordable projects, have multiple different sources they can go to. Um but because this is new construction, this is really the only tool that makes sense for our project. Uh and that's why we have not been able to move forward without it. Thank you for that. Thank you. Any other questions for members? Thank you all. And I'm assuming we would also want say Mr. Bruno the same for this project as we requested for the other project. >> Absolutely. If there are no further questions, thank you, gentlemen. Thank you, board members. Uh the next item for consideration later this month is a tax revenue anticipation note. I would invite Kena to come forward to share more. Um thank you, Dr.

127[snorts] Leggins. Um we talked about this briefly at the last meeting that um we're not anticipating having sufficient revenue in the beginning of the fiscal year to meet our obligations. So, we will need um additional funding, and we're looking at that through their tax revenue anticipation note. Your information says up to a 110 million. We hope to be able to pull back on that, but we just aren't in a position right now to estimate exactly how much we will need. Notices have been sent out by our fiscal agent to to entities that might be interested in bidding on this particular issue. So we we really don't know what the interest rate is going to be yet. There are going to be some opportunities for arbitrage for us and so we're looking at at at all

128of those across the board and we hope to minimize our borrowing, but at this point we just we don't know exactly what that's going to look like. We're still working with the bank on some issues. We still have a ways to go. And Ms. Curl, you'd indicated at the previous meeting that this was a practice that was not uncommon among Kentucky school districts just because of the way the revenue cycles fall. So can you walk us through what this means in terms of a stopgap of sorts for funding? Well, I actually it turns out that I misspoke. Things have changed since I retired from the Department of Education 20 years ago. It used to be a practice that was widely used among school districts. It's not now. Right now it's just us and Jefferson. But

129but what has happened over time, districts used to just keep 2%. That was the requirement in their contingency. And with a 2% contingency and lots of school districts, that wasn't enough money to fund the payrolls at the beginning of the year. As as as people have kind of grown in their financial abilities in the school districts, a lot of school districts now keep much more than 2% so they're not in the same situation that they used to be in so that they can fund their their summer payrolls and and going forward. So it's not a practice that's widely used now. It used to be but but for this year it's just us and and Jefferson. And you foresee this as again a stopgap. Is this is is this equivalent to taking out a loan for

130a recurring expense or is it just a shore up until we get guaranteed revenues? >> It it's just a shore up until we get guaranteed revenue but I would have to say we will probably need the same practice next year. I don't anticipate our contingency growing to the point that we could actually fund our way out of this in the next year. So I think we will be you will be right back here next year looking at the same situation to need some kind of stopgap funding but it is it is stopgap. Any other questions board members? Yes. Board members. Thank you for that clarification on that. Things change. Yes. >> [laughter] >> We've been around a while. 20 years later. We've been around a while and things change. Um And this may be an

131unfair question for you but to your knowledge has Fayette County Public Schools ever done a tran? I'm not aware that Fayette County has ever done this. >> Okay. And then But but let me point out that we should have in the last 2 years but we didn't. I don't disagree. I tried to make that point myself. Um You and I'd like to know what's up to No, it says in the amount of the summary says in the amount of 110 million, but >> I I tried I I tried to change it but I changed it on some things and not on others, but >> And that's fine. No, I mean I'm glad that you said up to 110 and I changed it for for the next meeting. This one was already posted before I realized

132it was up to. Thank you. Um And And I know you've been digging through a lot and trying to find concrete numbers that we have have eluded us for a while. Um Can When you initially told us about this, it was significantly lower. Yes, it was. [clears throat] And and maybe this is a a discussion for the budget discussion. Yes. >> Um will that be answered why it got so much higher? I mean almost double. The budget the budget will not tell will not tell the story on that because it I mean the budget and the cash are are are two different issues, but um when we did the cash flow analysis initially, we were only looking at the general fund. And we are going to have some cash needs um in fund two and

133our grant programs. Um some of those programs, as you know, the federal programs in particular on are are reimbursement grants. And some of the state ones don't come in in time for us to actually make our first payroll. So, um the additional money is because we think we're going to need money in fund two. And then there's >> end of this year or for next year? >> This this year. I I mean July 1. We expect to sell July 2nd. Um so it's it's for the new fiscal year. Right, the loan or the tran, but but not because of deficits or It will or low >> When we get in when we get into the budget discussion, um I was kind of saving this for that, but um >> Then that's fine. No, no, it's

134okay. Um, we're actually projecting starting the starting next year with with no beginning balance. Um, and and that's a very very conservative estimate. It's very early to make that estimate because we still have two more months in this fiscal year to close, but um I would be I would rather be much more conservative right now than than anticipate something much better and then that not happen. Um, so we're our tentative budget is built with a zero beginning balance. Thank you. Any other questions, board members? I'm the on the TRAN and no, we do have a tentative budget discussion coming up. So, right now we're talking about the TRAN. Yes, we are. Yeah, and this is related to that. Um, a few questions. I'm not familiar with I don't know what a TRAN is at all.

135Um, about [clears throat] how long does it typically like take you to pay it back? Um, are we talking about a commitment full year or is it something when the revenue comes in we're going to be able to pay back, not pay as much interest, or Um, those are details that we still have to work out, but it is a one-year loan. Um, and and as we get closer to nailing down our cash flow, um, we will be able potentially to make some payments along the way. Um, we can't we have to draw it all at once, but we don't have to use it all. We can invest it. It is um, so so we'll be looking at all the investment opportunities as well as maximizing the money as we get it. Um, and and

136using as little of the loan as we need to. But, the loan rate should be will be lower than the interest than the investment rate. And as far as the contingency fund is concerned, is this why we why we have the 6% number? Is that meant to be able to do this or is that 6% not Yes. And and and truly for this district, 6% is is probably not even enough. But >> Yeah, that was going to be another one of my questions. [laughter] Is that even enough? Because it doesn't seem like it's a little low as well. Any other questions on the tran board members? One more question. >> One more question. So, one question that I've gotten a lot is saying Can you please share with the community we have we need to

137take this Wha- We We don't need to. We have to. Um we cannot make payroll the second payroll in July without this money. Thank you. Thank you. And the other thing to emphasize to the point you made prior cuz I know that there was some uh preliminary uh documents to your point that got shared. Uh and again, the purpose of the board meeting is to discuss things before decisions are finalized and made. Um but this is an up to Yes, it is. >> $110 million. So, it's essentially a um a line of credits for lack of a better term. Is >> Well, no, it it's not a line of credit. What if if we say if we determine at the sale that we want to sell 110, we have to sell 110. >> Okay. So,

138we can save the reserve. >> But we're hoping to be able to have a better number than 110 before we actually sell. That's That's But whatever we say we we need to sell, we have to sell the whole thing. Okay. And then whatever is in reserve if we don't spend We can invest >> invest it and draw it. Yes. Earnings on that >> yes. And that's allowable within this kind of loan. Okay. Okay. And your anticipation would be that the rate on the investment would exceed the interest rate on the loan. >> Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Dr. Lincoln. Thank you, board members. Uh and Kena, our next item on Chief Human Resources Officer Jennifer Dyer will um share information about the proposed salary schedule for 2026-2027. Ms. Dyer. Good evening, board. Um this

139is an annual document that's reviewed and brought to the board for approval. This document includes all of the salary schedules for all of our employee groups. For example, the first salary schedule is the single salary schedule that it pertains to all certified staff regardless of the role, whether that's a classroom teacher, a guidance counselor, a principal, or certified director. Um they all are the off of this same single salary schedule. It is based off the rank, which is considered the educational level and the experience, and that determines the daily rate. So, basically, you get your daily rate times the number of days for that position, and that's your base. In addition to that, there are other salary schedules such as the supplemental duty schedule, which is for extra duties, which would be athletic or academic

140supplemental duties where our teachers um earn additional pay off of those particular items. There are certifications for both uh salaried and hourly that the board allows that are above the minimum requirements, like national board certification, where they receive a supplement or level increase based off those additional certifications, and also the administrative additive. For a associate principal, a principal, they have the same base salary off of that salary schedule, and then their administrative additive is for the roles and responsibilities for that particular job. And so, there are some uh language changes. There's a redline version. Um, there are changes to kind of update and align with the educational professional standards board, um, which is the certification agency. They changed, um, some dating guidelines and when they date a certificate. So this is a lot of the

141language in here was to update that. There was a couple name changes to some certificates and a couple added certificates. Is Is there any proposed increase in the administrative additives? No, sir. >> There's not an increase in any of And if I am reading page 22 correctly, it looks like there have been 1 2 four district level administrative positions that have been removed from the salary schedule. Is that correct from the administrative salary schedule? Yes, sir, that is accurate. Okay. So what Sorry, go ahead. Um, one more question and then for uh, certified and classified, the step increase that's built in is preserved. Is that correct? Correct. So if someone qualifies for that increase for their experience level, they would go all the way up to 30. 30 is where, um, the board The board,

142um, provided, uh, incentives a few years ago that went from 27 years to 30 because many of our retirement systems required in the new tiers people to go to 30. So the board, um, provided that increase of That 4% Thank you. The Well, I guess first on the the four that were removed from administrative added to schedule, dep- deputy superintendent, internal auditor, associate internal auditor, and school leadership board specialist. Why were those removed? Those positions were eliminated moving into the 26-27. Okay, and they won't be Um, and you said there were no increases to administrative additive. Was there any consideration of lowering them? Given our financial situation. And then there's also some regulation that talks about that a someone cannot earn a salary less than the previous years unless there's a a reduction in the

143responsibilities to go along with. And that's a a what a a statute? Yeah, it's a legal regulation. >> Okay. I mean I've just I've been asked that myself a couple of times, so. Okay, thank you. Brenda. I'm bored with money. On page two, there's salary change that's kind of tiny at the bottom. Is that a part of the day reduction so that price or that salary needed Um, yes, for that rank of five, that is an update to what it is what it um should be based off of the aggregate. So that is a change based off of what it um it should have been. It's rarely used in Bay County. And certified staff uh So classroom educators will still be at 189 days. That is not that um there's been to some discussion about

144reduction in days but for certified classroom educators it's still 189, which is what it has been previously. >> Correct. The work calendar for the classroom instructors remained at 189 days. Brenda. I'm bored with money. And I think you said on like page six there's some added and then there's like that infinite this fundamentals name is just changed. That's just changes to the certification name or Yes. >> Yes, so there was an update to language and then there was two that were added for for year. And then um the classified hourly or is it little bit later on in in the document and you will see there were some name changes. These are reviewed every year so there were name changes and some that were added like the forklift was on the grounds uh section but

145it had not been on the maintenance section. So it was just to make sure that they you know was reflected accurately. And on page 21 the relief bus driver and the relief relief bus monitor have been removed we don't use those or correct the system changed when Yes ma'am. when they got additional hours. >> Yes. Great question. Any other questions board members? Oh, I have another. Board member Mundy. So on page 29 there's the um stipend for professional learning but it was strike for participation in school and district based professional development but it left the preparation the prep um in the curriculum work. So does that mean that if someone participates in professional development they don't earn that stipend anymore or is that just kind of cleaning up what it's for? >> It's cleaning up

146some of the language. It's not a requirement there are times that there are funds like specially grant funds where someone could still earn that so that's not taking that away but the majority of the time it is for what is outlined but it does not take away that that option. And it can still be flexed. Yes when we have flex days in the calendars then yes that can be tracked and that's exactly right. Any further questions board members? Thank you board members uh and Jennifer. Later this month you will also be asked to approve the tentative budget for the 2026-2027 school year. Uh, we have Kena and Jessica Williams, interim director of budgeting, uh, will be presenting this information now. You want to go ahead? Well, thank you, board members. Um, uh, it's it's taking

147it's taken a bit to get here, but, um, here we are with the the tentative working budget. Um, want to go ahead and go into those slides. Yeah. Um, usually when, um, we're giving the monthly financial reports, we kind of slide past this portrait of a of a graduate because we have a hard time, um, fitting in to this, but with the budget, the three times a year that we come to you with the budget, um, we I feel like we are kind of in every part of the portrait of a of a graduate because of our support for the schools and the teachers and and the system, um, that leads us to these, um, amazing outcomes for our students. And then we also have strategic priorities. Generally, we are in the organizational health and

148effectiveness, but I would argue again that with the budget, where we're, um, touching all of those again. Um, uh, you're probably familiar with this slide, but I will just remem- remind you that we do have three budgets throughout the year. We have a draft that the board approved in January, this tentative that, um, that we're bringing to you tonight and we'll ask for your approval at the next, uh, regular meeting, and then the working budget, which would be considered our final budget in September. So just a brief look. Um this is an overview of of what you're going to see. Um uh Jessica's going to walk you through some of the details here, but you will see that we have um a 2% contingency. 11,400,000 is a 2% contingency. Um we are estimating um our

149expenditures and our revenues at 711 and 11 million, and the total budget is 880. That 880 cons- uh includes the on behalf payments that are not really cash received or actually expended. It's it's a general entry of of the contributions that the state makes on our behalf. Um in this tentative budget, um we have we still have a a lot of data that's outstanding that we need to have before we get to the final budget. Uh we don't know what ADM was for the for the year. We don't have property assessments yet. Um we are assuming a 4% levy by the board, but of course that's up to you and and your action. If if you don't take the 4%, then we'll be making some adjustments in this budget. Uh we have two more months

150that we need to close for the current fiscal year. And we're in the process of restating 2025, which I discussed with you last month. We continue to make adjustments on a daily basis that that go back to 2025, and every adjustment that we make for 25 affects FY26, and then affects what we're projecting for FY27. So we still have a lot of moving pieces. Um as I discussed, we have a 2% contingency, and we and I mentioned earlier that we are projecting a zero beginning balance. And again, I I want to stress to everyone in this room that we are being extremely conservative. Um we're still in the process of cleaning up a number of grants. We're still um working through the restatement. We have a lot of information that still has to come in,

151but we'd much rather not count on something than count on it and then it not come through. So, and I and I did discuss with you earlier, too, that the we do have a balanced budget, but the budget is balanced on um on the sale of property. But without appraisals or no sales, it's just a number on which to balance, and I feel like it was very conservative at just over $3 million. Um so, um Jessica's going to go through some of the details with you. Good evening. I want to begin with a reminder of the strong returns we have seen from the investments already made. And how those investments continue to support the long-term goals of the district. Fayette County Public Schools has the highest starting teacher pay in the state of Kentucky. The

152average student ratio is 13:1. And our 4-year graduation rate is 93%. As we move into the FY27 budget, it's important to discuss some of the challenges and issues we are currently facing. As with all school districts, personnel accounts for the largest expense within the general fund budget. For us, that is approximately 85%. The historic investments we've made in salaries have resulted in compounding costs that must be accounted for each year. Because these investments include the highest starting base salary for teachers, it has allowed less of an inflationary impact impact compared to what other teachers in other districts have been facing. Other increases to general fund include contracts, insurance, utilities, and software, such as Parent Square, which is what we use for communication with our families. Static enrollment coupled with an increase of students with high

153needs also adds to budget challenges. However, the priority priority is still in the classroom. The budget supports our continued commitment I got a little ahead of myself. The budget supports our continued commitment to protect schools and the historic investments that have been made. We've made the necessary expenses expense reductions essential to achieve the a balanced budget for FY27. Our long-term sustainability plan is to continue program evaluations coupled with project right-size, bright future. This will continue to support the evaluation of facilities to ensure the most efficient use of space while helping meet the growing demand for modern, specialized learning environments. This plan will also assist in addressing shifts in student population with long-term goal of reducing budget pressures. We wanted to share with you a visual of the distribution of personnel resources within the district. As

154you can see, the total for salaries including benefits and on behalf is $605 million. Of that, schools make up 85% with transportation and maintenance um the cost at 60 million, business services 22 million, and district administration is 0.6% at 3.5 million. Next, we want to talk about district level reductions and the steps taken to manage expenses while serving our classrooms and students. During recent years, there has been an estimated reduction of approximately $6.9 million in operational costs at the district level. Between the 25-26 school year and the upcoming year, more than 115 district support positions have been reduced. There will be There will also be a reduction in work calendar days from 20 for the 26-27 school year that will result in an estimated $1.9 million in savings. However, I want to emphasize that there

155is no change to the work calendar for classroom teachers or paraeducators as Ms. Dyer shared. Next Next, let's take a look at the anticipated revenues for FY27. As Ms. Coe shared, the beginning balance is projected to be zero as we move into FY27. General property tax remains the district's largest revenue source with projected revenue of nearly $282 million. Consistent with practice followed for many years, we will once again recommend that the board adopt the 4% rate this fall. So, you can see the different categories for revenue. One that I want to point out is uh the object code 3111 for SEEK program. So, that is the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky. That is the our largest revenue source from the state. And we are projected to receive around 108 .5 million dollars, which is an

156increase of almost 4 million. So, that's a bright spot for next year. As you can see, the overall budget is projected to be $16.6 million less than the current fiscal year. Now, let's take a look at the expenses of this revenue will support. Um again, the largest expense that we have is salaries and benefits for our employees. Another area I'd like to highlight is that of um the 0600 series, which is uh mostly general supplies, but it also houses our utilities, including electricity, natural gas, the diesel fuel for our buses, which as you know has been increasing daily. Um the curriculum, district-wide curriculum. This budget also proposes a $4.2 million allocation for Chromebook. Um then we can look at our contingency, and as um Ms. Post shared, we are looking at exactly a 2% contingency

157built into the budget at $11.4 million. We've talked a lot about the general fund, but we also want to highlight uh an overview of the other four funds that make up the total $880 million budget. Again, we want to remind the board that this is a tentative budget. So, the general fund will be is approximately 80% of the overall budget, while the other funds make up the additional 20%. Projections generated from the data and information we have, uh again, is based on tentative uh information that we have. So, as we move towards the working budget this fall, we look forward to your partnership in solidifying the data and information to help you make best decisions possible. And now, I want to add to that that Jessica and I are confident in the FY 27 tentative

158budget numbers you have tonight. We know that um some will change as we get better data, but that for where we are today, we're we're confident this these numbers are good. I want to stress once again that I do not believe the board has received good information in the past. And it would have been difficult to make different decisions based on the information you were given at the time. Um we hope this tentative budget and moving forward to the working can build a foundation on um a new way and um we'll be looking at changing processes and procedures and and getting us um getting our ship righted. Thank you. Um can we go back to the slide on estimated revenues? Uh what is our basis on the projection of about 7.2 million less property tax

159revenue? So, the Want me to take it? Go right ahead. Um the numbers that you're seeing here now are the are what are in the current budget. Not what we're seeing in actuals. And when we look at the actuals for the current year and where we are 10 months into the fence fiscal year, we don't believe we're going to make budget on that particular item in the current year. So, we are projecting the tentative budget based off actuals. And so then that would be the same for what we see with occupational license. Yes. Yes. Yes. >> And interest, okay. All all all of them actually. Um now some we're on budget, but but that one in particular we were not and uh or we don't believe we're going to be. So, we're working off actuals.

160And in the next slide on um the expenditures um one of the reasons, you know, you see that $2.9 million variance on salaries, that's because even as there are adjustments at the district level, the largest chunk of our staff, to the point that you made in the early slides, is at the school level. And so, one of the challenges that we faced last year was, um, inaccurate forecasting for the level of experience. Yes. >> Um, and the retention of staff. So, is has that been factored into this equation, and that explains that smaller variant from what we might have >> Well, and the small variance, too, is that in the tentative budget, we have, um, $6.5 million for step increases across the district. So, um, we we have some increase there, and then, but that's

161our net decrease because of, um, the cuts that we made. And this preserves, I know the board um, traditionally has set aside about $30 million, I believe it is, in the, um, the allocated positions we provide to schools. Um, the discretionary positions we provide to schools. This preserves Is this preserved? Yes, you're talking about the additional, um, above and beyond what we do from the state allocation, what, um, district's allocation is for, uh, campuses. So, yes, that's about $30 million. >> Yes. Yes, the school level services are are preserved in this tentative budget. Uh, any, uh, additional questions, board members? Yes. Board member first. So, the the 2.9, you said that's the the the net decrease, and that takes into account the calendar day reductions, which were 1.9. Yes. And then there are Yes. >>

162people who lost their jobs. Not just reductions, but >> [clears throat] >> people who lost their jobs. Um are we going to see that, this may not be a question for you, are we going to see a list of that and how much [clears throat] that saved? At any point, I mean, those positions that were cut. Yes, that that isn't final until after May 15th, so after that it will be um once it's a final list. So, could that number change then, the variance? That is just a a budgeted number, not an actual number, and so it very well could at the the the working budget. But for this purpose, it will not. Okay, and back to the the property tax. I guess it was the previous slide. The 288, you're saying Well, and what

163other what whatever other number you mentioned, the the 288 million, are you you're saying that's that we are not going to make that budget this year. We're not going to take that in. What? I mean, that's the budgeted number. We're going to come in with actuals that are less than the 288 million, or that's our projection at this time. The 288 is or something else is? You don't know what it's going to be, right? We don't know exactly what it's going to be, but we do believe it's going to be less than 288. >> So, it should be less than a $7 million variance. Yes. And then just um on the contingency, I think I know your answer on this. The um if the beginning balance is zero and you have the general fund contingency

164at 11.4, that's just listed as an expenditure. Is that correct? So, that's why that's not counted in that beginning balance. Because we have to put that aside. >> It would be counted in the beginning out balance of the following year. Right. Okay. But when I do It's just it's the big page by the numbers. 11.4 million and you're dividing that. Again, we've talked about many different ways to Yes. calculate the contingency and you have been firm that there aren't many different ways. So is that 11.4 divided by the the seven 700 and 11,383,670? It's actually the general fund and the food service fund added together minus the on behalf payments as well as anything that's in an object code above 0900. And so then you take that percentage. Okay. Well, if you can email that

165to me, I would like to just see that calculation so I finally get cuz I I mean when I do that it's like 1.6 million. I mean 1.6% instead of the two, but I would just like to see the actual calculation. Sure. Thank you. Um as we mentioned earlier, um the sale of the Southside Center came in greater than what we had anticipated. Um so would that be reflected in uh would that be reflected in the final account for fiscal year '26? Cuz right now we're still showing $4 million in the FY26 budget. Or would we have to wait for that to be completed? Um it it will show up in the actuals, but but we do have to wait for it to be completed, but we're expecting to close on that property in June.

166Isn't that right, [clears throat] Mr. Thompson? >> Yes. Okay. So that we anticipate that prior to the close of the fiscal year. >> Yes, sir. I want to remind you. Has the budget and finance committee seen this yet or will they see it tomorrow? I think I saw there's a meet for Wednesday. They have not seen it. Um, I I I wouldn't share anything with anyone before I share it with the board. Um Um, I know one thing that I've said before in looking at the very beginning with the road map, um, we don't have a lot of wiggle room for this tentative budget to get um, community input. And I understand why given where we are and taking you really figure out where we are to even be able to have the discussion, but

167um, maybe that's a charge of the budget and finance committee or something to talk about as a board and thinking about how moving forward next year before the tentative budget um, we can get some meaningful community input and then really think about getting that input and how we receive it and how we address it. Um, I know it's a tight timeline, but having gone through this process the first time, the tentative budget is pretty darn important because by time we get to the working budget, I mean the year has started or school salaries are locked that nature. Um so that's just something I want to throw out there and put on the radar as well. Um, when we also get the list of um, reductions, would it be possible to know what specific departments were

168reduced and what that means for the services that were being provided for those departments because I haven't seen that, but I've gotten lots of emails and um, people have been asking me and wanting to talk about some of the reductions that have been happening services that may or may not be lose, but I don't have the answer. I do have what that is. Um, and that was really helpful last year when we had the spreadsheet that had all the reductions on it so we could see that and we were able to have the conversation about what um, was being reduced and why. So that I can communicate effectively to the community as well. Um In the end, is there will there be a delay? I know originally when the right-size bright future set up the

169timeline, it was May that we were going to get information, but is that going to be a little later? Um Did you get Everything that's That's supposed to be coming to you in June now. Yeah. Okay. I think that's all I have. Oh, one more additional question, I got to tell the truth. Were any district budgets cut by a particular percent? I know last year and the year before district budgets by a certain Did that happen in the submitted budget as well? Yes. Um Yes, district budgets were reduced. It was a combination of operating as well as um some personnel. Um most of the personnel was um could be attributed to positions that were vacant already. Um but it was around 10%. And do you have any additional questions? Okay. Um then that reminds me

170and I know that 115 uh positions came up. So, just to clarify, number one, and maybe this is something Dr. Liggins can jump in on, when we use the term district {quote} {unquote} district support position, can you tell us what is meant by that? Number one, and then number two, distinguishing between um eliminating a position uh verse and I've Miss Cole, you you said this at the uh April meeting that there's a difference between positions and people. Um so, could you articulate um some of that for us, either you or or Dr. Liggins as far as So, number one, what what we mean by {quote} {unquote} district support positions, and then number two, what we mean by the term positions. Ms. Dyer, you want to help us a little bit with that because she she

171has this down pat, right? >> [laughter] >> Um the district support um has multiple categories. For example, um human resources. We support all of our campuses, all of our departments. We would be a district office that provides support across um in uh there are other student support, special education, our technology department, DPP, uh all of those areas would be considered support to our campus. Our whole purpose, no matter whether we work transportation, child nutrition, any of our offices are to support our students and families. So, we in my mind and I think most people's district support is all support. So, there's multiple categories that is uh would would entail whether it is administrators, uh whether it is a district salaried or district hourly positions, all of those are support our campus, our students, our Thank

172you. And then the second component of um the distinction between uh positions. So, does 115 positions mean 115 individuals necessarily? Some of the positions, I think as indicated, had been vacated retirement, resignations, those things that when they looked at those were eliminated, someone was not physically um working in that position. I can speak directly to um several of the positions that were in human resources. We had retirements throughout the 25-26 school year and so those were positions that were held and then eliminated. So, those would be examples of people that were not in them in in some of the positions that were a part of the savings going into the 26-27 school Well, I think you might be asking about in addition, the difference between a riff and an involuntary transfer, some of some of

173the different categories that that make up that reduction. Mhm. Is that Yeah, well, the point that Ms. Dyer made and as as well as and I believe you made this point in April of an involuntary transfer where someone who has job rights would have to be relocated if if they were based in central office. >> Correct. So, there were positions that uh were not moving forward to the '26-'27 school year and those employees were moved into other roles, transferred into other roles. This happens every year at our school campuses. Um this is uh more unique at our district. And then we will see and I believe Ms. Cole and Dr. Leganjo have shared obviously um with May 15th as the deadline, um you anticipate the board and the community and you will see is more

174the details as to the nature of the positions and uh the decision-making process behind those as well. Yes, that will be coming out after the May 15th uh deadline. Any further questions, board members? Camera. Board member Green. >> To kind of go off what you just asked after the May 15th and I think um Dr. Mundy also alluded to it. Um if there was a position or individuals um in the student support programs that were sustained by that um organization, can you share how that is set set support student programs, how that position will look like and how it will come out moving forward? Yes, we will not have that information on May 15th. We actually have a meeting on the 19th, I believe, to discuss that very thoroughly cuz we do know that not

175one service, not one position that was {quote} {unquote} eliminated, those services will be eliminated. All of those services will be absorbed by some department, some entity, some person. And so, that will not be completed as early as May 15th. Thank you for that. I did have another question. We talked about the SEEK projections and they are increased in the tentative budget. In the past, sometimes we didn't show an increase in the tentative trying to be very conservative. Can you share how you came to this number and felt confident that there could be a proposed increase in the tentative? Yes, that's a great question. So, um KDE actually produces a forecast SEEK for all school districts and that just recently came out and it is based off of data points that we supply to KDE in

176terms of our uh exceptional child counts, which, you know, um Adam gave me, um our free and reduced lunch numbers, which I got from our child nutrition group. Um Rose Santiago shared um English language uh learners uh count with me. And so, [clears throat] based on estimated some estimated data in terms of assessment, different things like that, um we felt pretty confident about about the numbers that went into it. And then, KDE then takes all of that data and then produces what they think the um SEEK forecast number will be. Um and then another um you know, us in the um later on, maybe September, yeah, is when the tentative then comes out with more solid numbers, just like with the working budget. And and and I would remind you with SEEK that um the

177numbers are not on only dependent on what we do in this district. It's a statewide pool and um some of the numbers in other districts might affect our allocations. So, um, while they they've used very conservative estimates to give us an estimate at this time. When they get all of the data in from all of the school districts, it it could affect our data again. But again, but we believe this is is pretty conservative and and will serve us well. Thank you. Um, another question. In the beginning, I think we talked about this in April, actually back in February, changing our budget process to zero-based budgeting process. Can you uh talk about that and if that's a I'm sorry, I wasn't in February. I I don't know >> Yeah, at the department level, there was

178that was what was done at each individual department working with that and that's actually part of when you talk about the process of how we got to the 115 positions, etc. It was based off of um, some of those practices. Thank you. You're welcome. Camera >> But Marvin Um, or we talked about the code for supplies. Did you share um, a reminder? I um, there was also a request for other information, but could you share everything that's included in that supplies? You listed it off, but that could be sent to us. Um, I have Absolutely. On the indirect uh 5220 indirect cost transfers, is that um, increased cost of grant our grant programming or what is the justification for that increase there? Yes, that is um, anticipated indirect costs from our grants as well as

179what we will recover from our um, food service um, indirect costs that moves over to the general fund. And and if we're looking at expenditures, um, where we anticipate a bulk of that um uh a bulk of the tran going towards that fund. Is that correct? Cuz that would be the upfront cost. And we're projecting that tran will help personnel. Uh I'm sorry. I was I was I'm I'm having a hard time hearing you. >> fine. I was the tran and that which expenditures are we going to target the tran on or is that going to be across the board? >> There will not be a target. It will be just whatever money it takes to make up our our expenditures for that month. It it could even roll over into debt service if if

180we don't have sufficient revenue coming in to the building fund by the time we have to pay debt service then the tran could be used to to pay debt service. It will be just it will just be a balancing factor of whatever revenue we get in against all of our expenditures and then the rest will be the tran. And but the tran comes with that type of flexibility. There are no restrictions on >> there are no restrictions. That's right. Okay, thank you. Any other questions? Board member first. >> Yes. Well, I guess I just don't want to leave the the budget discussion without mentioning the um I assume two of the positions that were eliminated were in the sustainability office. I think it was two. We have all heard a lot from the community and

181some of our community partners who work with that office about um how much it has saved the district with energy audits and grants and um there's I know there are a lot of people here tonight who I think there are who want to speak to that and I mean that's a particular You mentioned that we're going to have a justification of why those positions were eliminated and I guess that's a particular office that I would like to see the justification for that. And it sounds like if there's a if it's already been decided by May 15th and if there's a meeting a meeting on May 19th, it's going to be too late but July 1st and and I attended the sustainability symposium where those students presented and there was there was a lot of support

182for that whole office, that whole program there. Um and people asking how is that going to continue? And if it's not someone's priority, if it's not that office's priority, how is that going to continue? So, I just wanted to address the um the concerns that have been shared and that that I share with our community partners and always been my understanding that that office does save the district money and basically pays for itself and if it doesn't, I would like to see some explanation of that. Yeah, and I want to be clear and I hope I didn't misspeak and say that there's any positions that were unnecessary. Um we had to make tough decisions based off of uh balancing a budget. And so, um I was at that same um um symposium that you talked

183about and um indeed that is a service that we all have a great deal of respect for and and every department where we had to cut some positions, there were things that were certainly necessary for us to do. Um just in this environment, we're going to find ourselves um taking on those services elsewhere. There's no way that we plan on eliminating uh sustainability efforts in this district um by any stretch of the imagination. It's just um how it will look without um particular people in particular positions. And so, but the work will certainly continue. And I just to be clear, I don't mean to prioritize that those positions over others because um hopefully every one of our employees, you know, has been contributing to success in the schools and for our students, but I just

184that's that's one that's been specifically in the spotlight, and I just wanted to address that. Thank you. Thank you. And these are obviously not easy uh decisions that the administration um is making, and one of the things that this board has said time and time again is that when these decisions have to be made, we want to protect the classroom as much as possible. Um and I would I agree that it's uh you know, we've heard a lot of concern about the sustainability department. Um I do would like to see um how that work is going to be distributed and continued throughout the district. One thing I also think uh we can and and should leverage, and we've had this conversation before on other topics, is um engaging our community partners. We've had community partners

185present at this meeting um on the issues of sustainability and energy management, and I think that this is a a prime opportunity to um to leverage those partnerships and engage with them to help fill um some of the gaps that have been created by some of these decisions. So, I would hope that that's part of the conversation going going forward. Any other questions, board members? Next steps, Ms. Bodo, that we can anticipate. So, this will come back before the board at the May action meeting. I'm assuming are you Is there additional information that you're waiting on that this could change between now and the action meeting? What We don't intend to change it before the action meeting, but it certainly will change before the before the working budget. Um during our monthly financial report um

186between now and September, if something significantly changes, we'll include that as part of the monthly financial report so that you're not caught off guard in in September if there are major issues that that come up. And so bottom line at the end of May, we will have a tentative budget that number one is balanced, correct? >> That's correct. And number two, with numbers that you and your team have confidence in? Today. Today. Yes. >> Because recognizing cuz you told us this in April, this is a tentative budget. >> Yes. And you also told us you're pulling back the layers of the onion, we recognize that. And yes, sir. And when I asked you what you needed from us in April, patience. >> patience. Has that changed? >> No, sir. It has not changed. Um we're

187still peeling the onion. Um but we find issues that we need to reconcile almost daily. Um and and some of them are very small and um and don't affect the overall budget or spending or any of that, but but they but they're they need to be changed um as does the process that that made the error in the first place. So, um we still have a lot of work to do, but we're um we're getting there and we we will have we will have good financials for the auditors by the end of the year. Thank you. Uh Warmon Green. >> It just a final thought and request. Um earlier when we talked about the tran, there was a discussion about potential needs in the next year as well. And I think others also spoke a

188question amongst the board about having a plan to restore contingency. Um and more of a five like a a five-year forecast budgeting. So, because we know every year affects the next and it's um reflective on what happened in the past. So, I would ask maybe moving forward when the space and the time is appropriate that we can have those conversations. Absolutely. Absolutely. Mr. Board member Sorry, I have one issue question that the um salary investment chart looks a little different than it looked last. I just want to make sure that I understand what is district administration. I know that gets talked about a lot cuz there's a lot that goes into district mental health services and things that impact students, but could I get a like a little breakdown or an email that doesn't have

189to be now that kind of has that in there? Like what what services are district services? Yes, we can send you when we send the email for the other request, we can it actually there's a list of codes in our in our accounting system that make up the district district administration and we'll send you a copy the codes. Um thank you and just to also add to Chair Murphy's part, I just want to say I completely understand that when you have community partnerships, you have to have someone to coordinate those partnerships and it takes a lot of time having done that um for a long time myself. So, I don't want that to fall on deaf ears that I think we all fully understand that the time it takes to invest in vibrant learning and

190um and work with those partners. Thank you. Thank you and one of the things, you know, we discussed this in April was um obviously this is a a challenging time. Obviously, we're all frustrated and obviously there's an inclination to want to do something and you advised us that right now we have to first figure out all of the facts and continue pulling back that onion. And so, we are continuing to do the deep dive. So, we appreciate that work. And as we do that deep dive, we need to respond based on the facts that we find and move forward accordingly. So, that this is a step in the right direction. The information that we've heard tonight, um with numbers that you can bring to us with more confidence. And then, um these ongoing discussions are

191going to be critical and important to uh resolving these long-standing challenges that we've had as we gather more information. So, thank you to you and your team for your work. And uh please continue to keep us apprised and the community apprised as well. And we appreciate the information you've shared thus far. Thank you. And thank you for your support. Thank you, board members. Thank you, Kina. Thank you, Jessica. I'll return the meeting back over to you, Chairman Murphy. We do have a need to go into closed session this evening. Thank [clears throat] you, Mr. Leggins. Sure. Uh next on our agenda is a time for members of the public to address the board on any topic of district-related concern. Um Bay County Board of Education Policy 01.45 states members of the public may address the

192board during the period set aside by the board without submitting an item to the agenda. No action shall be taken during this portion of the meeting on issues raised by employees of the public unless deemed an emergency by the board. Uh speakers will not be allowed to make any dispersion critical remarks by individuals or employees of the district. Critical comments or complaints are processed through the district complaint procedures, which afford the individuals to whom comments or complaints are directed the opportunity for response and due process. Furthermore, members of the public are encouraged to model civil and respectful discourse and conduct. This is an opportunity for members of the public to address the board. Uh it is not intended to be a time for debate or direct engagement with the board, since these items are not

193on the agenda. Uh members may or may not comment. Um the chair will determine uh the amount of time for each speaker depending on the lateness hour of the hour and the number of speakers. Um so, we have a few yield Sarah, and I've tried to make note of that as you come forward to speak. Um I ask you to come to the desk uh either side of the table uh where the microphones are located. We have uh 30 individuals who signed up to speak. Some of those are yielding time. Um so, normally the time set aside for planning meetings is 15 minutes of public comment. Um but I'm not going to ask people to speak for 30 seconds. So, I'm going to ask speakers to keep their remarks to 60 seconds. And there will

194are people who have time yielded. So, our first speaker this evening is JoAnn Burrus. Thank you for the opportunity to share um tonight. My name is JoAnn Burrus. I'm the grateful mother of Boone Burrus, who's a junior at Bryan Station High School, and Ada Burrus, who is a 2023 graduate of Bryan Station High School and an active member of the Bluegrass Youth Sustainability. During her time at Bryan Station, Ada noticed that trees had been cut from her campus. She worked closely with Prescene Logsdon, FCPS Sustainability Coordinator, who connected her to the groundskeeper, Trees Lexington, a local nonprofit, and the administration to get nine trees replanted on campus. This experience solidified in his passion for sustainability and helped her feel supported in her career goals. Chief of Staff Tracy Bruno recently stated that responsibility of continuing

195the services of the sustainability team will go to those of the district. I assume all district employees came to work with full-time jobs. What will be eliminated from those full-time jobs to [music] take over this? Your time has expired. Thank you. Our next speaker is Amira Hobbs and she has had time yielded from Christie Partner. Is Christie here? Okay, that will be 2 minutes. Hi, my name is Amira Hobbs and I'm currently a junior at Tates Creek High School completing the International Baccalaureate Program. I'd like to start by talking about my personal experience with the Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council and how I got there. From the time I was 4 years old and until the time I was 13, I attended a small Montessori school that had a heavy focus on nature [clears throat] and

196environmental learning. Being from such a small school made my transition to high school at Tates Creek very difficult. I remember struggling to make friends, being overwhelmed by a different learning system, and overall feeling very out of place. By the beginning of my sophomore year, I began to feel more comfortable in this new school, but I still felt that I lacked a sense of purpose I once had at Montessori. It was my biology teacher who first recommended I join the Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council. I didn't completely understand what that would entail, but I was excited to try something new. At BYSC, I became a member of the waste and recycling committee. And this past year, I chose For waste and recycling, we really wanted to focus on cleaning up our local I truly believe that students

197deserve to learn in an environment that they can Students in all levels of education work better that build In the past two years of alone, with the support of BYSC, the waste and recycling committee has managed to pick up 11,942 pieces of trash from our local schools, FCPS schools in this district. The work that BYSC does is unreplaceable. And the support that I have gained, the knowledge that I have gained from BYSC, I couldn't have gotten it from anywhere else. It is so important and fundamental, and cutting it is cutting away an opportunity for from other students to get to learn about the environment and experience it. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Hobbs. Our next speaker is uh Olivia Younger. Good evening. My name is Dr. Olivia Swedberg Younger, and I'm a parent of a

198fifth grader at Veterans Park Elementary and a seventh grader at Southern Middle School. As a parent, I think a lot about what the world will look like for my children in the future. So, three years ago, I earned a graduate certificate in applied sustainability and environmental studies. This spring, I had the opportunity to put my passion for sustainability and making the world a better place for children to good use when I had the pleasure of serving on the Fayette County Schools Superintendent's Advisory Council on Sustainability, facilitated by Dr. Logsdon. I was so impressed by the work this group did, which you heard a little bit about earlier. Learning more about the other programs that the district's two-person sustainability team has progress that they've made toward the sustainability action plan made me so proud of our

199district. So, when I learned these two positions were to be cut, I was shocked. These This team helped build the community relationships that Board Chair Murphy spoke about earlier and cutting those positions puts them at risk. Also, they save money and provide grant funding for the district. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Our next speaker is Danny Woolum. Good evening. My name is Danny Woolums. I'm a community partner and educator and a long-time resident of School Board District 5. All views are my own and everything I say represents only myself and no one sees that I work for or represent. I had the pleasure of first meeting Kristina Lawson when I was an undergraduate student at Transylvania University. I was a student representative of a newly formed President's Council for Sustainability. A committee had

200that convened students, faculty, staff, community partners, and alumni. Kristina was both a community partner and alumni and I had no idea that 15 years later I would be calling her dear friend and colleague. Since that initial meeting, I've been able to watch up close the incredible work being done by both the two-person team um at FCPS in their sustainability office. I have watched the students engage in a sense of ownership of their education. They do waste energy audits and have the great joy of scolding their teachers for not being sustainable enough. I have watched the teachers learn about the community resources to bring into the classrooms to support the learning of the students as the FCPS sustainability team host workshops year after year after year for them. I have watched this office apply for hundreds

201of thousands of dollars of grants of direct improvement to FCPS facilities. The improvements include permeable paving pavement parking, rain gardens, stream bank improvements. As we speak, there are five schools currently doing a partnership um about School Board >> [music] >> funds. Thank you all so much. Please support the sustainability team. No, you're Uh Mia Murphy is our next Thank you. Uh Kathy McDonald. Hello, I am an ELL teacher at Lansdowne Elementary and um I not only have big dreams of teaching English, I also have big dreams of teaching sustainability, but when I came to Lansdowne several years ago, we had no practices in place. We didn't recycle, we had a struggling garden, we had no leader, no funding for the garden, and we had no energy saving practices in place. I was connected to Tracina

202and Logan several years ago, and so with their guidance and support, I have started a green team. We have 15 fourth and fifth graders. We recycle everything in our school, including all of the milk cartons, 500 or more each day. We have a thriving vegetable and pollinator garden, and we are starting to compost. Tracina and Logan have helped me secure grant funds. They connected me with community partners like Live Green Lexington and Food Corps, who teach environmental lessons in our school every week, and we have accomplished a lot. Lansdowne's success is only possible because of this team. Cutting this department saves millions in utilities and waste management, and they provide an essential impact on our students. I urge you to reinstate Tracina and Logan, so all the schools in our district can achieve the levels

203that Lansdowne has. Thank you, Ms. McDonald. Our next speaker is Logan Poteat. That one right there. Okay. My name is Logan Poteat. I have been with energy engineering for FCPS for about 13 years now. My background is in mechanical engineering with a focus on environmental engineering. I, along with my colleague Tracina Logsdon, comprise the entire sustainability department, which first started in 2010. Our number one goal is to reduce how much we spend on utilities in this district. Based on the trajectory of the district's utility consumption, if the status quo had been maintained since 2010, we would have spent 31.7 million more dollars on utilities over those years. That averages out to $1.9 million in cost avoidance that this two-person department provides FCPS. And I don't have to tell you that us two people do not

204cost this district 1.9 million dollars in salaries. Not too long ago we were informed that beginning next year the sustainability department will no longer exist. There will be no one auditing utility bills. There will be no one you get negotiating utility contracts, no district wide department to work beside our students and teachers every single day to create a culture of energy efficiency in our classrooms and throughout our neighborhoods. Thank you. I ask you to reconsider. >> [applause] >> Our next speaker is Heidi Thompson. Thompson. In the room? Larry Moore? Matthew V? Larry Moore. Okay. I want to speak to the governors regarding several curricular issues. This board's being asked to approve staffing reductions, reduced contract days, a tentative budget, short-term borrowing, sale of three major public properties including a 1928 historic building. At a time

205when the district's financial information has not been verified, fund balances have been misstated, and the state auditor has expanded her review. There is no long-range property There is no public discussion of facility strategy. Yet, the board is being asked to liquidate assets that will not generate immediate cash in a soft real estate market during an active financial investigation. That's not planning. That is reaction. Oversight requires more than receiving reports. It requires ensuring information is accurate, complete, and trustworthy before >> [music] >> You may finish your sentence, Mr. Moore. You can finish your last sentence. Okay. I'll leave you with what Albert Einstein once said. We can't solve problems using the same thinking we used when we created them. Thank you. Uh our next speaker is Matthew Vede. Is Sharon Hasberger here? And Alan Vetnik? Okay.

206You'll have 3 minutes. Okay. I hope I hope that the four the five members of the board understand how bleak how truly bleak the financial situation is. Ooh. We are going to end the fiscal year with no money. None. And we're we're talking about contingency funds percentages 2% and 6% with the KD he says with the state law says. And I >> [laughter] >> I'm going to die on this hill. There's a lot of There's a lot of hills that I'll die on, but one of them is the definition of the contingency fund. And the it really doesn't matter if it's 2% or 6% or if it's of the general fund plus food services fund minus on behalf payments or if it's above the total budget. The The problem is guys you you're going to

207have zero. Zero dollars. And we have to borrow $110 million potentially to make payroll. Do you know so if if you had a an $11 million contingency fund Do you know what your expenses are for the first 4 months just on salaries? For the general fund for the first through the first 4 months it's $90 million. To pay for salaries for the first 4 months of the fiscal year for general fund. Please look look in period 4 financial reports $90 million. So an $11.4 million contingency is not enough. 2% of general fund plus food minus on behalf is not enough. 6% of general funds not enough. 6% of total budget is not enough. And that's why this is so important while all this is so important because you need $90 million to make payroll alone

208for the first 4 months of the year. And that's why my hair's been on fire every month. Month after month after month I've been saying you're going to run out of money you're going to run out of money. What I'm it's actually a breath of fresh air that Ms. Cole is being honest with you guys because what you've gotten for the last 9 10 11 12 months is a bunch of lies from those who have been involved with the finances of this district. And it just as a reminder Dr. Liggins assumed responsibility for the for the finest of the this district last summer. He should have had responsibilities from day one but he told us that it was going to be his responsibility back in the summer. What does it take for someone to get

209fired in this district other than the two folks in the sustainability department? What does it take for someone to get fired in this district? Rodney Jackson by all accounts is still not fired. Mr. Please refrain from referring to specific personnel. You were going to have zero dollars. You you might have negative dollars in the fiscal year. The situation is very bleak. >> [music] >> Thank you. Our next speaker is James Woodhead. And is Do we have Chad Pepler here? Do we uh in the other room? uh Jessica Cleveland. Okay, you have 3 minutes. James Woodhead, constituent FCPS teacher, FCPS parent, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth steering committee representative for Central Kentucky, and the elected secretary and treasurer for Kentucky 120 United AFT. I am once again here to use my voice in one of the limited

210current means available to teachers, rank and file staff, and the community to ask for accountability, transparency, and a process to restore trust in this justly deserved growing concerns and outcry. How did we get here? How do we prevent prevent it from happening again? And how do we stop rank and file staff from paying for mistakes that we had no formal involvement with making? I will tell you how, a CBA. Between 2019 and this school year, the district's highest paid employees, including district administration, grew in numbers by 59%. Meanwhile, the number of some of our lowest paid employees, including food service and custodial staff, only grew by 2%. While living in a city that has previously shared this evening ranked sixth in the entire nation for increases in cost of rent. The school board chair in

211office for the duration of that time to span oversaw this rising discrepancy and permitted district administration to grow a costly, unaccountable, vertical power structure. This created more separation between leadership in the classroom. With increasing stratification leading to the greatest disparity between the district's highest paid employees and the average teacher salary in the state of Kentucky. All the while the board chair has consistently blocked the very same rank and file staff that are now facing cuts from having a democratic voice, a transparent look at the district's actual budget, and a seat at the bargaining table. Additionally, the board chair expedited the contract renewal of the only employee in the district that currently has the ability to negotiate their contract. The superintendent. Soon before the budget shortfall and mismanagement was made public. This has created the optics

212of collusion while both have since denied formal conversations with the district's largest rank and file labor union. It's ironic and unfortunate that lawmakers are now seeking to deny educators some serving on elected school boards and part due to the lack of oversight by this governing body. Additionally, it's heartbreaking that rank and file staff and community members were ignored, incorrectly fact checked, or silenced. That spoke up in hopes of harm reduction to students and staff that are now watching our public school district potentially lose its agency to be governed by the local community. Systemic changes must be made to prevent this from being repeated. When decisions that impact our livelihoods and our students learning conditions are made, we deserve to be a part of the conversation and decision-making process. A collective bargaining agreement is the only

213way teachers, staff, and community can hold current and future FCPS leaders accountable for their actions. Let us vote. Thank you. Our next speaker is Laura Hartkey. Is Sarah Bearley here? >> And following Miss Harkey will have Mark Russell. So that will be 2 minutes. What was that? Okay, that we can Is Mark Russell here? And following Mr. Russell will be D.J. Adkins. Good evening. I'll reduce my comments to three. First, I wish to thank Dr. Mundy, Mrs. Amanda Ferguson, and Matthew Veed for asking the hard questions that need to be asked. You've definitely earned community trust. Second, I must repeat the call of the American Federation of Teachers by asking for collective bargaining for Fayette County faculty and staff. Finally, I feel the only way for Fayette County Public Schools to retain regain community trust

214and the trust of our legislature is for Dr. Liggins to resign and Board Chair Murphy to step down. Thank you. Our next speaker is D.J. Adkins. Oh, okay. Miss Harkey, go ahead. That'll be 2 minutes. I was sent this email from Kentucky Association of School Librarians. They're releasing it to the media and wanted it read tonight, so I'm reading that for them. >> [snorts] >> The Kentucky Association of School Librarians is representing over 300 members who are certified professionals across the Commonwealth is formally opposing the continued reduction of library services in Fayette County Public Schools. Most recently, this includes a seven a proposed seven-day reduction to school librarian work calendars and the elimination of the district's media services department. Failure to meet state high-quality standards Kentucky law KRS 158.791 mandates that every elementary school provide

215a high-quality library librarian media program. The Kentucky Department of Ed defines high-quality through the Beyond Proficiency guidelines, which established clear staffing standards to ensure library programs can effectively serve as valuable piece of a school's instructional core. Despite these guidelines, FCPS has been slowly reducing library staffing and services for over a decade. According to recent search on Kentucky Educator Placement Services website there are currently six FCPS elementary schools advertising for librarian positions at only .1 or .2 allocations a fraction of the staffing required to meet state guidelines for a functional high-quality program based on the number of students enrolled in those buildings. >> [clears throat] >> A growing local inequity Fayette County is falling behind both its peers across the Commonwealth and local private institutions in providing library services to students and teachers. Statewide disparity, while

216approximately 80% of students across Kentucky are served by a full-time certified school librarian that number drops to only 69% for students in FCPS. Private versus public, many of Lexington's private schools maintain at least one and in some cases two, full-time librarians recognizing that a robust library is essential for a full and vibrant education experience. [music] Thank you. I will forward the rest of this on to you because our schools deserve full-time librarians, and librarians have taken the biggest >> expired, Ms. Harper. Librarians are the core of our school. Our next speaker is DJ Atkins. Our next speaker is He's not here. Uh Christine Smith. And following Christine, we'll have Bonnie Ogle Taylor. Good evening. Thank you so much for having me. I'm happy to be here. I know I have 30 seconds, so I'll be

217quick. I'm here to speak on behalf of the sustainability crew that is um being shut down. And so, really, as a community partner, I was sort of shocked by the whole ordeal. And let me just say that this morning, I had over 40 girls from Rise Academy in the Seed Leaf Community Garden. And all uh for the past 2 weeks, we've been doing a series of vermicomposting lessons, teaching kids about worms. These are all activities that have been basically facilitated by Tracine and Logan's office. And so, these connections, which has become a vibrant part of what we do, uh basically wouldn't be possible without them. And I can't tell you the number of times that we meet teachers who say, "We don't know if we can afford X or Y or how to do this."

218And I say, "Have you spoken to Tracine?" Because she is the kind of connector that gets the teachers the resources that they need. Um I know I'm out of time, but I just want to encourage you to rethink that position. Thank you for your time. And Okay, Bonnie's not here. Our uh next speaker is uh Tracy Peddicord. Is uh Erica Pennington here? Yielded time. Okay. That'll be 2 minutes then. Okay, sorry. Okay. Can you hear me? Okay, great. Um good evening, Dr. Leggins and members of the board. Uh thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. I recognize the difficult financial decisions before you and understand the responsibility of a budget, balancing a budget during uncertain times. Being an FCEA board member, a long-time educator, um and an advocate for educators, students, and public schools,

219not only at the district level, but at the state level, I would like to respectfully urge the board to prioritize two things that directly impact the quality of education in our schools. Um those two things would be maintaining those salary schedule steps, and secondly, preserving the current discretionary funds at the school level. Keeping those salary schedule steps in place is not simply just a budget decision. It's an investment in retaining experienced, dedicated educators and staff. Step increases recognize years of service, professional growth, and a commitment to our students. Removing or delaying those steps risks harming morale, increasing turnover, and making it even harder to recruit and retain high-quality educators at a time when public education already faces significant workforce challenges. Equally important is maintaining those discretionary funds at the school level. School leaders know the

220unique needs of their students, their staff, and building. >> [clears throat] >> These funds support everyday needs that have a direct impact on student support, student achievement, and access to a well-rounded education. Reducing those funds may seem like a manageable cut on paper, but the impact would deeply be deeply felt in schools and ultimately by students. In difficult financial times, we must be thoughtful about what we protect. I ask that you protect the people who make the schools work and meet students' needs effectively. >> Thank you for your time. Thanks. And our uh last speaker this evening is Judith uh Humble. Good evening. I'm Judith Humble. I'm chair of the Sierra Club Bluegrass Conservation Committee, and I'm speaking for the group tonight. Uh we are asking the Board of Education and Superintendent Liggins to reinstate

221the sustainability team. Uh first of all, others have testified to the strong fiscal performance of this team. In particular, we are interested in uh Logan Lee uh Pete's account of the energy efficiency savings, $31.7 million, which is not an insignificant sum. I believe this team could be helpful to the school as utility bills continue to rise, and that was mentioned as a budgetary consideration. Um secondly, we respect deeply the environmental literacy instruction offered by this team. The Sierra Club's mission is to protect our natural environment, and that protection has never been needed more than now. This group of students will face serious environmental crises, including energy, water, air quality, severe weather events, and plastic pollution. So, we need them on board. Thank you for your time, Ms. Amble. And we do have one more, uh

222I believe. Is that right, Ms. Dyer? Two more? Okay. Barbara Barbara Priest. Okay. And Donna Verhoeven. Uh Ms. Priest, uh 1 minute. Good evening, board members and Dr. Ligons. Uh my name is Barbara Priest, and I'm president of the Fayette County Education Support Professional Association. I'm a Fayette County taxpayer, and I'm also one of the employees that had my work calendar reduced. I am truly troubled by the impact these financial shortfalls have on our employees, especially our classified employees. When the budget is mismanaged, it's our employees who pay the ultimate price through per- uh position cuts, reduced resources, and increased workloads. All too often, this heavy burden falls directly on the shoulders of our classified staff, the very individuals who are already giving everything that we have to support our students and our schools. We

223would like to know how many classified positions were eliminated. This is a defining moment for this district, and I personally expect a 1-year plan, a 5-year plan, and a 10-year plan. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Priest. Our last speaker is uh Donna Verhoeven. I'll pass. Uh originally was going to discuss the audit and changing the audit firm. I'll condense my comments on that. Start it with um how long have we used them? 20 years. How do I know that? Because in 2019 Murphy was a new board member and he demanded that audit firm be fired. Not fired, but a new audit firm. Even in the newspaper, an article. Uh a few comments, it's time for a change and I'll be pushing for that. Last year in April of 2025, he claimed we had a new

224audit firm. Stated there right as the board chair. Look at the I mean you've got video I've got video of it. So what changed your mind, Murphy? 19 new audit firm. Go on. How long has we have we known about this deficit? I'm running out time before we even get started. We've known since last September. We knew we was going to be broke. I went to the audit committee meetings. Matthew and I sit here and said it how many times? You all received three to four emails, detailed direct emails to the audit firm that also [music] did not address it. Thank you, Mr. It's time for Liggins, Murphy, and Green. >> Your time has expired. At this portion of the meeting, as Dr. Liggins indicated, we do have a need to go into closed session,

225but I will entertain a motion to make the agenda dated May 11th, 2026, on which action has been taken in this meeting a part of the minutes as if copied in the minutes verbatim. Is there a motion to that effect? So moved. A motion by board member Green. Is there a second? >> Second. Uh second by board member Monday. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries uh 5-0. At this time, I'll entertain a motion to enter closed session to discuss proposed or pending litigation pursuant to KRS 61.810 uh section 1 paragraph C. Is there a motion to that effect? So moved. Motion by board member Monday. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Green. The question is entering closed session discuss proposed or pending litigation pursuant to KRS 61.810 section

2261 paragraph C. Uh the board will reconvene in open session if necessary to the action required pursuant to discussion conducted during closed session. Is there a motion to enter closed session for the stated reason? So moved. Uh We already made the motion, right? Mundy and Green, all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Sorry, it's late. We are now in closed session. It's 8:47 p.m. Yeah. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh. Oh, Oh, oh, oh. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] >> Oh. >> [music] >> Oh. Oh. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> [music] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> [music] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> [music] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> [music] >> Yeah. Yeah. >> [music]

227[music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Mhm. >> [music] [music] >> Oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh. >> [music] >> Papa woo. Papa woo. >> [music] >> Papa woo. Papa woo. >> Okay, the board uh left closed session. Okay, the board left closed session with a motion by board member uh Green and a second by board member Monday and a vote of 4-0 at 9:15 p.m. Our closed session having been concluded at this time entertain a motion to direct council to respond to the hearing request as recommended. Is there a motion? So moved. Motion by board member Monday. Is there a second? Second. >> Second by board member Green. Any discussion? All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 4-0. Now entertain a motion to adjourn this meeting of the Fayette County Board

228of Education. I move it. Motion by board member Green. Is there a second? Second. Second by board member Monday. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 4-0. We stand adjourned and Dr. Leggett's will go get some lozenges. >> [music]