Ann Sampson Grimes
WKYT
Fayette County Superintendent Demetrus Liggins is reassigning district Budget Director Ann Sampson Grimes “to a position that will no longer include responsibility for budgeting or financial oversight,” Liggins told Grimes in an email last week.
Grimes’ attorney, Brandon Voelker, confirmed to the Herald-Leader that the email, first reported by Herald-Leader news partner WKYT, was sent from Liggins to his client.
Liggins said in the email he made the decision after an independent investigation into Fayette County Public Schools’ budgeting practices. A Missouri law firm launched the investigation into budget problems at Liggins’ request, and found that Grimes contributed to “deficiencies” in FCPS’ budgeting and management of a significant financial deficit.
“The investigation did not find evidence of intentional misconduct,” Liggins told Grimes. “However, the report identified deficiencies in forecasting, financial monitoring, and internal communication within the district’s budgeting processes. The report further concluded that certain actions and omissions did not meet the professional expectations associated with the leadership responsibilities of the budgeting function.”
Grimes was placed on administrative leave in 2025, but later returned to work. She has filed a lawsuit against FCPS over alleged retaliation, claiming she tried to raise alarm about budget problems before they came to light.
Voelker has repeatedly criticized FCPS’ actions toward Grimes as inquiries into the budget have unfolded.
“This is nothing more than the continued harassment of Ms. Grimes,” Voelker told the Herald-Leader Thursday about her reassignment.
“Superintendent Liggins had already taken away her job responsibilities,” he said. “We look forward to having 12 Fayette County residents decide who is in the right.”
Another report from an attorney hired by the Fayette County Board of Education to investigate Liggins’ role in tending to district finances also found multiple policy violations by the superintendent. The report found Liggins failed to comply with two policy obligations, as well as board governance, while the district faced a budget crisis.
Voelker said he has “complete faith in the citizens to see through Liggins’ blatant attempts to blame others for his failures.”
The investigative report that Liggins referred to when reassigning Grimes showed that in 2024 and 2025, FCPS had two key financial leadership positions. Grimes served as executive director of budget and financial planning, and Rodney Jackson served as executive director of financial accounting and benefits.
The investigation found that Grimes may have told district leaders, including Liggins and Deputy Superintendent Houston Barber, that the district would need to make budget reductions during fiscal year 2024 and more expenses couldn’t be sustained. But the investigation also found that Grimes didn’t clearly communicate the specific salary overages.
“Grimes prepared a projected budget for FY 2025 that did not account for the District’s actual FY 2024 salary expenditures,” the report said. “By failing to incorporate those known expenditure levels into the FY 2025 projections, the resulting budget did not reflect the salary gap and made the already growing deficit less apparent to those responsible for reviewing and approving the budget.”
As a result, district leaders couldn’t tell how bad the budget issues were, the report said. The report confirmed that starting in March 2025, Grimes repeatedly raised serious concerns about the projected deficit to district leaders, including Barber and Jackson.
Once Grimes presented a budget to district leaders showing a deficit of $16 million or more, district leaders shared that information with the Fayette County Board of Education and began discussing how to address the deficit.
Liggins told Grimes in the email that her reassignment will allow the district to implement changes “while continuing to utilize your experience and service to Fayette County Public Schools in a role outside of the district’s financial and budgeting management function.”
Liggins asked Grimes to meet with human resources March 9 to receive her new assignment. Voelker said he didn’t yet know what that assignment was.
District spokesperson Miranda Scully didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 6:57 PM.