Over the past several months, Fayette County Public Schools (FCPS) has faced mounting financial instability tied to accounting concerns, overstated revenue, and a budget deficit that district leaders are now scrambling to address.
With nearly $938 million in outstanding debt and a projected zero-dollar fund balance for the 2026–27 fiscal year, FCPS has implemented sweeping reductions, including eliminating more than 115 district support positions and reducing employee work calendars.
The cuts have created uncertainty across the district, affecting morale among staff and raising concerns about the long-term impacts on students and school operations. Against this backdrop, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins sent a districtwide email on May 4 intended to reassure employees and acknowledge the hardships many are facing.
In the email, which linked to a ParentSquare post, Dr. Liggins thanked staff for their “professionalism, resilience, and commitment” during what he called an “extraordinarily difficult period” for FCPS. He acknowledged the emotional toll of the cuts.
“Behind every decision is a person, a family, and a livelihood,” he said, while also assuring employees that “no classroom teacher or paraeducator positions have been reduced.”
However, toward the end of the message, a line appears that seems to signal that AI generated the email. It reads: “Suggest moving this statement.”
In a message meant to reassure his staff, this potential use of AI feels like the exact opposite effect was accomplished. Even just walking into my classrooms, I can sense a difference in my teachers’ morale.
If this message was created using AI, as it appears to be, my question is, does Dr. Liggins care so little that he couldn’t write his own message, or at the very least read over his AI-generated message to catch the obvious error?
A Dunbar teacher who asked to remain anonymous said, “I’m hurt by the fact that he doesn’t care enough during the most trying part of his administration to either a) admit some fault or b) empathize in a true and real way.”
They said that the use of AI on such an important message would make them question his leadership and authenticity. And this sentiment is also shared by students like myself.
Senior Iman Hussain said that she was disappointed by the seeming contradiction of how it is appropriate to use AI in school. She said, “They tell us not to use AI, but are using it themselves.”
To me, it’d be like if I used AI to write my college essay, a written piece meant to describe my personal feelings. That just seems wrong.
I’m upset that it looks like the individual in charge of major decisions impacting my education and the education of thousands of other students used AI to write a heartfelt message.
At the end of the day, this isn’t just about a careless mistake in an email. It’s about what that mistake communicates. Students are held to a clear standard when it comes to AI, and if that same standard doesn’t apply to the people leading this district, it’s not only not fair, but also a mixed message about responsibility and communication.
And most importantly, the staff who received that email deserved better. These are real people who were just given potentially devastating news, and a copy-pasted message with what appears to be an AI tagline is not the respect they were owed.
In a district already struggling to hold things together, the last thing we need is fake sympathy from our leaders.
