LEX 18's Larry Smith sat down with Fayette County Board Chair Tyler Murphy to discuss a range of topics, including his plan to run for reelection, the district's budget, and other issues impacting local students.7PMFayette Count y Board Chairman Tyler Murphy is planning to run for reelection this fall, even though a new state law says he can't.Murphy said in a one-on-one interview with LEX 18's Larry Smith that he's glad Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins has opted to stay and continue to bring stability to a district that's had 11 superintendents in 20 years.He also expects the legality of Senate Bill 4 to be challenged. Sitting down with School Board Chair Tyler Murphy"The governor mentioned this in his veto message, there are obviously serious constitutional concerns with this legislation and there are going to be avenues to address those," Murphy said. "My focus right now is again, on serving the people who elected me because as someone who teaches civics and government to students, we talk about the importance of being engaged, of being involved, and I think I have a responsibility as a teacher who stands in the classroom and talks about those values to live out those values."Murphy plans to run for re-election in November to extend his six-year tenure. It was eight years ago he was first elected to the board, campaigning as a teacher and a needed voice in working to better educate our youth."It's also vital for me as an elected official who's entrusted with leadership by the people of Fayette County to defend their voice and their vote, and I will continue to do that. I take responsibility that the voters entrusted me with seriously. It's why I've, every decision I have made has been focused on the success of students and our educators, and that's not gonna change," he said.That work includes forming a budget for the next school year, a process made more challenging by rising costs and reduced financial support from the national and state level."It's going to put a significant strain. You know, that was one of the conversations we had last May because when the school board set its priorities in May, the administration comes back and says this is how much it's going to cost. You know, do we cut or do we raise revenue if we can't make up that difference?"Murphy said Kentucky education has now been constantly underfunded for 20 years running and hopes taxpayers, who bear the burden of any financial shortfalls, will take notice of that."6PM Fayette County Schools have begun their budgeting process for next school year and the economic issues facing all of us are landing on their table as well.Board Chair Tyler Murphy said the board is working to avoid running into the budget issues that dominated 2025 while trying to balance spending amidst costs across the board and a reduction in funds from Frankfort."We are now on almost 20 years of consistent underfunding of public education in Kentucky and I think that that has to be included in any conversation about public schools or the challenges facing public schools because we know that Fayette County is not alone," Murphy said. "SEEK funding is 25% below 2008 levels when adjusted for inflation and that takes a significant strain in Fayette County alone. If SEEK could just have kept pace with inflation, we would have $25 million more dollars in state revenue last year alone."Murphy is critical of state lawmakers who passed Senate Bill 4, which prohibits someone like him, a Fayette County resident who teaches in Boyle County, from being chairman at FCPS. Sitting Down With School Board ChairAccording to him, Kentucky lawmakers are not being realistic of what's needed to provide a better education for Kentucky students."The budget that passed out of Frankfurt underfunds transportation to school districts by about $80 million, right? And, and that's a statutorily required amount and so when state funding is reduced, what's important for people to understand is that when state funding is reduced, that shifts the burden to local taxpayers. Now, local Fayette County taxpayers are contributing about 70% of school funding versus 30% from state when the formula is supposed to be a 50/50 equation," he said.5PM The Kentucky legislature ended its session by overriding several vetoes from Governor Andy Beshear, including one that puts limits on who can serve as school board chairman in districts across the state.The law would mandate that you can live in one county, work in another, and serve as school board chairman where you can live. However, it would make it illegal to teach in one county and serve as school board chairman back in your home county.We spoke with FCPS School Board Chair Tyler Murphy, who currently teaches and lives in Boyle County."One of the whole reasons I ran for the school board eight years ago was because I was witnessing just these constant attacks on public education and our educators and my philosophy was we need more educator voices at the table to help inform these decisions," Murphy said. Law Bars School Board Chair from ReelectionMurphy has spend six of those years as the board's chair, and while he acknowledges the budget issues the district has faced, he also knows the board is working on better communication to avoid that from happening again.However, he thinks those strides sometimes get lost in the conversation."We've made incredible progress and gains for student achievement and those gains don't happen by accident," Murphy said. "They happen by being intentional, by bringing those perspectives to the table, by keeping a dogged focus on our students and on supporting our staff that make that work possible."Murphy's term expires in December, but he's already planning for the future."I have filed to run for re-election...I've shared several months ago that I intended to run for re-election because we're making incredible progress and we want to continue that progress. I am passionate about public education, and so so standing up for our schools and our students, that is nothing new to me and so I'm ready to move forward and continue serving the people of Fayette County," he said. ...read more read less