Fayette County school board chair seeks to block KY law that would oust him from office
The central offices of Fayette County Public Schools are housed in the John D. Price Administration Building in Lexington. (Fayette County Public Schools)
The chairman of the Fayette County Board of Education is suing to block a new Kentucky law that would remove him from office.
Tyler Murphy, who has been on the school board since 2019, filed a lawsuit against Senate Bill 4 in Franklin County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Before the General Assembly passed the legislation earlier this year, Murphy had filed to seek reelection.
Senate Republicans introduced the bill to establish a professional development program for Kentucky principals, but the House later changed the bill to remake the Fayette County and Jefferson County school boards. SB 4 also says employees of a public school district for more than 100 days per year cannot serve on the board of a large school district.
Murphy teaches at Boyle County High School.
Attorneys for Murphy said in a court filing that the law violates the Kentucky Constitution, as it creates special legislation, or laws that only affect certain towns and not the whole state. Plus, the rule against school district employees from serving on school boards “was enacted for the very purpose of rendering Murphy ineligible for reelection to that position,” the filing said.
The law “places a cloud over Murphy’s candidacy, which is likely to erode support for his campaign among the district’s voters, among persons who would otherwise volunteer to help his campaign, and among citizens who would otherwise be inclined to financially support his campaign,” the complaint says.
Murphy’s attorneys argued that Republicans in the legislature have sought to get Murphy off the school board. Administrators of Fayette County Public Schools have been criticized by lawmakers over budget shortfalls. Last week, the Board of Education approved a request to seek a $95 million loan to keep the district in operation.
Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville, filed an impeachment petition against Murphy in January, but the House Impeachment Committee did not act on it by the end of the 2026 legislative session.
Lockett released a Wednesday statement calling the lawsuit “nothing more than an attempt to distract from the disaster that Fayette County Public Schools is under Tyler Murphy’s leadership as board chair.”
“Rather than taking responsibility for the district’s financial failures and focusing on what is best for students, he has chosen to file a lawsuit challenging a law that was duly passed by the General Assembly and enacted through the constitutional process,” Lockett said. “He may be emboldened by recent rulings by activist judges, but there are no legitimate grounds for overturning a duly enacted statute simply because you can’t do the right thing by this community. The General Assembly has both the authority and the responsibility to establish standards for public offices and governance structures across the Commonwealth.”
Lockett added: “The only filing Fayette County taxpayers should be expecting from Mr. Murphy is his resignation.”
Murphy is joined by statewide teachers’ union the Kentucky Education Association in the lawsuit because other members of the union may be affected by the law if they wished to seek election to their local school boards. The lawsuit is against the Fayette County Board of Education and local Fayette County election officials.
Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate has been assigned to review the case.