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A public hearing does not guarantee that the School Board will increase the occupational licenses tax. But some School Board members want to leave the option on the table.
FCPS Board schedules public hearing for potential OLT increase
A public hearing does not guarantee that the School Board will increase the occupational licenses tax. But some School Board members want to leave the option on the table.
In August 18th's Regular Meeting, the Fayette County Public School (FCPS) Board of Education scheduled a public hearing for September 5th to discuss potentially raising the occupational license tax (OLT).
Shortly after, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman issued an opinion calling that vote illegal because the Board did not announce the vote far enough in advance, nor have a public hearing for the vote – both of which are required by law for most tax increases.
The top two recommendations from the Work Group both involved using the District's Contingency Fund to fill the FY26 Budget's projected $16 million deficit.
On August 15th, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins told the Lexington-Herald Leader that the Contingency Fund – which was expected to be around $42 million in FY26 – is on track to be closer to $15-22 million and would not be able to be used to fill the deficit.
In the August 18th meeting, the FCPS School Board discussed several of the recommendations from the Budget Solutions Work Group. During their meeting, Deputy Superintendent Houston Barber and Executive Director of Financial Accounting Rodney Jackson told the School Board the District had already tapped into the Contingency Fund this school year.
This left less in the Contingency Fund than the Budget Solutions Work Group were told, throwing the feasibility of their top two recommendations into question.
Jackson also added that he didn't know exactly how much of the Contingency Fund had been used so far, nor what it had been used for, but that he would provide Board Members with this information in the near future.
Ultimately, the School Board decided to hold a public hearing to give them the option to increase the OLT rate legally, if they deem necessary in the coming weeks. Of the five board members, Amanda Ferguson and Monica Mundy were both strongly opposed to the option of increasing the OLT rate, but Mundy was open to a public hearing to give the community a chance to voice their opinion. You can learn more about how the OLT works here.
The final FY26 FCPS Budget must be adopted and submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education by September 30th. After September 5th's Public Hearing, the School Board will have a meeting on September 8th to continue discussion of changes to the Budget, and will have a final vote on the Budget in their September 22nd meeting.
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How can you get involved? You can attend the School Board's Public Hearing on the Occupational License Tax on September 5th and share your thoughts on a potential increase with the School Board! You can also give public comment at any other School Board meeting.
All Board of Education meetings are held at the John D. Price Administration Building.
Recommendations from the Budget Solutions Work Group are being presented days after Superintendent Liggins shared new information about the District's stressful financial situation.
Kentucky's Attorney General ruled that FCPS's occupational license tax increase was illegal. Now, FCPS will pause the increase and get community input on the budget.
