The superintendent stood at the podium this week and did that thing administrators do when they want gravity without fingerprints. “These are tough decisions,” Demetrus Liggins said, as families pleaded for their schools, programs, and communities. Mergers. Closures. Right-sizing. The whole g reatest-hits album of institutional sorrow. And yet — funny thing — none of the “difficult decisions” on deck appear to involve actually scrutinizing the superintendent’s own spending. Or his compensation. Or the luxury travel. Or the life coach. Or the expense culture that ballooned quietly while classrooms now face consolidation. You know. Those decisions. According to the Herald-Leader’s reporting, Fayette County Public Schools is now openly preparing the public for what sounds like a rolling wave of closures, mergers, and program eliminations. The Rise STEM Academy for Girls may be forced to share space. The Stables — a therapeutic program serving some of the district’s most vulnerable students — could be shuttered entirely to save $1.1 million. Parents cried. Students testified. Twenty-two people spoke, which in school board terms is basically a civic alarm bell. And the board nodded gravely, promised to listen, and did what it usually does: deferred the hard stuff downward. A Rise parent put it plainly: the district has a history of broken promises. Another speaker, an eighth grader from The Stables, asked not to have his school closed because it’s the only reason he can stay in school at all. Hard to hear that and not feel something catch in your throat. Meanwhile, the phrase “financial reality” floated through the room like an unchallenged law of nature. As if budgets appear fully formed from the sky. As if priorities are not chosen. What was notably absent from the discussion? Any mention of a forensic audit. Any serious look at how FCPS got here. Any appetite for turning the flashlight inward. Guess that would be too difficult. Funny how the tough cuts never touch the people making six figures. The school board, for its part, remains largely what it has been throughout this saga: a compliant supporting cast. Several members — including those previously endorsed by the Herald-Leader — asked thoughtful questions about logistics and timelines, but none pressed on executive spending or accountability. Rubber stamps don’t make much noise when they hit paper. Vice chair Amy Green wondered aloud whether the equine community might help save The Stables. Which is generous, sure — but also revealing. We’re crowdsourcing survival for kids while refusing to examine the district’s own checkbook. And yes, enrollment is declining. Buildings are underfilled. That’s real. But so is the fact that the district somehow found itself paying top-dollar executive compensation and perks during that decline. Those two truths can coexist. One just doesn’t get talked about much. This is the part where leaders usually ask for trust. For patience. For understanding. But trust is hard to come by when every sacrifice seems to be made by students, families, and specialized programs — never by the people who designed the system. Lexington is being told to brace for pain. Just don’t expect it to be shared evenly. After all, the truly difficult decision — asking whether the house was mismanaged before selling off the furniture — still isn’t on the agenda. The post Funny How the “Difficult Decisions” Never Start at the Top appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less