Valarie Honeycutt Spears
·4 min read
A Fayette County school parent has filed a public corruption complaint with Kentucky’s attorney general that alleges illegal activity by an elected or appointed official.
Specifically, it is Matthew Vied’s contention that the regularly scheduled meeting held by the Fayette school board Aug. 8 was in violation of state law in that it did not allow public comment.
He contends the meeting was in violation of state law because three members of the board voted to amend the schedule to allow for a vote to be held to finalize the property tax rate.
“I specifically named Tyler (Murphy), Amy(Green), and Marilyn (Clark). Since they voted yes on the motion to amend the agenda and voted yes on the tax rate. Amanda (Ferguson) voted no on both because of the lack of public comment. Jason (Moore) was absent,” Vied said.
Vied said guidance from the Kentucky Department of Revenue, based on their review of the relevant statutes, states any taxing district proposing to levy a tax rate that exceeds the compensating tax rate must hold a public hearing to obtain comments from the public regarding the proposed tax rate.
The Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education failed to do so at their meeting on Aug. 8 when they voted to approve the new tax rate that exceeds the compensating rate, said Vied, who had an unsuccessful school board run in 2022.
“Not only were these actions in violation of state law, they were also an egregious violation of public trust. The public deserves the opportunity for public comment when their elected officials vote to levy hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes,” Vied said.
Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office did not immediately comment.
In response, Tyler Murphy, Fayette Board of Education Chair, said Monday, ”If Mr. Vied wishes to complain about a lowered tax rate and increased investments in kids, he has the right to do so. Our focus remains steadfast on educating students and ensuring a strong start to the school year.”
Board member Amanda Ferguson said her own research into the matter of allowing public comment at every regular board meeting, whether planning or action, leaves her in agreement with Vied.
State law and district policy clearly makes no distinction between planning and action meetings, and the only logical conclusion is that they are both “regular” meetings, she told Vied in an email that he shared with the Herald-Leader.
“I believe public comment should be allowed regularly and should have been allowed at the Aug. 8 meeting of the FCPS Board of Education,” Ferguson said.
Because of unanswered questions, Ferguson said she was requesting that Murphy schedule a special meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education as soon as possible to revisit the vote on the tax rate and to allow public comment before the vote.
Since the Fayette County tax rolls were certified by the PVA’s office on July 26 and the tax rate must be set no later than 45 days after that, the board could meet this week or early next and still be within the statutory time frame, Ferguson said.
Murphy did not immediately comment on having that meeting.
Ferguson said regarding public comment at planning meetings, “I think Vied has a good point and the chair has probably erred by not allowing it. Statute and policy seem clear to me.”
“I said at the Aug. 8 meeting I thought it was bad form to set the tax rate without public comment and I still think that,” Ferguson told the Herald-Leader.
Property tax rate
The Fayette County Public Schools Board on Aug. 8 approved a tax rate cut for fiscal year 2025 on real estate and personal property and held steady at the same rate for motor vehicle taxes.
The Board of Education for 2024-2025 school year levied a total tax rate of 80.9 cents on real estate and 83 cents on personal property per assessed valuation. For motor vehicles, the board levied a tax rate of 59.2 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
The current rates are 81. cents per $100 for real estate and 83.3 cents per $100 for personal property.
The new tax rate generates a 4% increase in revenue for the district.
“Essentially, it allows us to lower the rate while still fulfilling the budget obligations approved in May,” Murphy said at the time in a statement.
In May, the Fayette school board approved a $801.8 million tentative budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The district will receive $325,733,780 from property taxes during the fiscal year, according to the school board agenda.
