Elementary school parents appeal to Fayette board on art class cuts. What members decided

Fayette County school board members on Monday chose to not follow a board attorney recommendation to dismiss an appeal from parents fighting the loss of art courses.

Instead, board members are postponing voting on the issue of whether Cassidy Elementary can keep standalone art instruction courses and asked for more information.

In the last few months, the Cassidy school decision making council had voted to eliminate the courses and Superintendent Demetrus Liggins had denied an appeal from parents.

Parents then appealed to the school board Monday saying Cassidy’s school council had violated Kentucky’s Open Records and Open Meetings law in making the decision to cut art courses. The board was set to vote on the appeal, but the board attorney said the school board didn’t have jurisdiction to address the appeal.

Board member Jason Moore said he wanted more time to review state law just to make sure the board doesn’t have jurisdiction. Other board members said that was also their wish.

Board member Amanda Ferguson said it was important for school decision making councils to follow guidelines in posting agendas.

Morton Middle School families are also protesting cuts to chorus and technology education.

The eliminations were made by school decision making councils, which are making multiple cuts across the district as they are making staffing and budget decisions.

Cassidy families also are filing a complaint regarding violations of the Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act with the Kentucky Office of Education Accountability, said parent Ansel Elkins.

“We ask for transparency in decisions that involve proposed curriculum changes that impact the education of our children,” the Cassidy parent appeal to Liggins said.

Parents and retired teachers spoke at Monday’s school board meeting, asking that stand alone art instruction not be removed from the school.

“Public education is the best kind of education” yet students are leaving Fayette County Public schools due to questionable decisions, parent Virginia Kerr Zoller said.

Private school enrollment in Fayette County has increased from 4, 351 in 2018-2019 to 4,862 on February 20, 2024, Fayette district staff said at a meeting earlier this year.

The lack of effective communication on the part of the principal and council in its proposal to eliminate standalone art classes “creates distrust among the parents and students that the SBDM (school based decision-making) Council is acting in our best interests,” the parent appeal said. “There was never a chance for the Cassidy community to give its input on the curriculum changes.”

Liggins, in his earlier denial, said while he had the authority to overturn the SBDM Council’s decision, it was important to him to uphold democratic principles and respect the autonomy granted to council members by the Kentucky legislature.

Liggins said although he was denying the appeal, providing an arts education class was beneficial, and the removal of this option is unfortunate.

District officials are working on the fiscal year 2025 budget for the 2024-25 school year. The total working budget for fiscal year 2024 was $836,026,245, as of January, officials said

Board chairman Tyler Murphy said Monday the district is not cutting the budget as it relates to the arts. He said board members had made investment in art a priority..

Murphy said in the last budget cycle, the board made a $1,457,943 investment in visual and performing arts at the district level. In the FY22 cycle, district-level expenditures in fine arts amounted to $347,315.

He said more than 68 school-level positions outside of campus allotments have been made for band, orchestra, music, and dance.

District spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith has said student enrollment numbers and projections directly impact the staffing allocation made for each school. If the student enrollment number goes up, the staffing allocation also goes up. If that student enrollment number goes down, so does the staffing allocations.