Valarie Honeycutt Spears's Avatar

Valarie Honeycutt Spears

@vh-s.bsky.social

Staff writer at the Lexington Herald Leader, covering K-12 education

325 Followers  |  12 Following  |  218 Posts  |  Joined: 19.11.2024  |  1.6681

Latest posts by vh-s.bsky.social on Bluesky

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KY Republican lawmaker criticizes Fayette schools in push to cut DEI from K-12 “Diversity is not anything that people should be afraid of,” countered Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

10.12.2025 19:19 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Superintendent says he has no ties to Texas firm hired to audit Fayette schools The audit will supplement the Kentucky state auditor’s special examination, district officials say.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

09.12.2025 19:45 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Fayette County School District’s contingency fund lags behind other KY districts Only twenty-five of Kentucky’s 171 school districts have a smaller rainy day fund rate than Fayette County.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

06.12.2025 21:30 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Fayette County School District’s contingency fund lags behind other KY districts Twenty-five of Kentucky’s 171 school districts have a smaller rainy day fund rate than Fayette County.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

05.12.2025 10:09 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Fayette schools opts not to scrap virtual days, will combine them with snow days In August, district officials had floated the possibility of eliminating virtual, or NTI, days, as a cost-cutting measure.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

04.12.2025 23:27 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Will Fayette County schools end virtual learning days in favor of snow days? The superintendent recommended the move this summer as part of cost-cutting measures.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

04.12.2025 09:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Head of Lexington private, cooperative school on leave of absence Due to ‘privacy considerations’, Redwood’s board chairman said she could not share specific details of the leave.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

02.12.2025 17:17 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Draft of Fayette schools’ annual audit shows ‘weakness,’ ‘deficiency’ “We know better, we do better,” said Rodney Jackson, the district executive director of financial accounting.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

29.11.2025 10:52 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

ttps://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article313096032.html

24.11.2025 22:06 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Fayette schools seeks to prohibit dissenting board members from talking to media “That is both an absurd policy and one that violates the First Amendment,” lawyer Michael Abate said.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

24.11.2025 18:39 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1
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‘Please do not close our school.’ Future uncertain for FCPS school where kids work with horses “Canceling the contract will close and kill The Stables,” Program Director Kevin Faris said.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

22.11.2025 11:01 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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KY school district sued over sexual assault hazing claim at football camp The complaint, filed in federal court, alleges the district, superintendent and high school football coach were negligent.

amp.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

20.11.2025 21:25 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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FCPS considers merging all-boys and all-girls STEM schools. Families oppose plan “It is essential that decisions about facilities ... honor the intentional design, mission, and purpose behind our new Rise building,” principal Cynthia Bruno said.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

20.11.2025 00:34 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Fayette County middle school test scores improve, other schools hold steady Middle schools in Fayette County increased to the state’s second-highest rating.

amp.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

19.11.2025 11:51 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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FCPS lobbyist terminates contract, alleging ‘monetary and reputational damage’ A lobbyist said her firm “has sustained significant damage due to the district’s shifting information on its budget status.”

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

14.11.2025 14:31 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Names of victims killed in Louisville UPS cargo plane crash are released “Each of these victims represents a life full of purpose interrupted far too soon and also a life that will never fade,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.

www.kentucky.com/news/state/k...

13.11.2025 03:28 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Family of Louisville UPS plane crash burn victim ‘holding onto hope’ As of Thursday afternoon, more than $60,000 had been raised for a man severely burned in the UPS plane crash in Louisville.

www.kentucky.com/news/state/k...

06.11.2025 20:32 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Family of Louisville UPS plane crash burn victim ‘holding onto hope’ As of Thursday afternoon, more than $60,000 had been raised for a man severely burned in the UPS plane crash in Louisville.

www.kentucky.com/news/state/k...

06.11.2025 19:03 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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‘She’s all I got.’ Families await news on missing after Louisville UPS plane crash Several people remain missing after a fatal plane crash in Louisville on Tuesday night.

www.kentucky.com/news/state/k...

06.11.2025 13:22 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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FCPS superintendent’s expenses: 29 trips, $28K on food, nearly $152K total bill “Each conference I attend is carefully chosen and board-approved, with the clear goal of bringing back actionable ideas,” Superintendent Demetrus Liggins said.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

15.10.2025 12:14 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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KY high school teacher charged with federal child pornography offenses The 51-year-old theater teacher distributed child sexual abuse material to an undercover officer, prosecutors say.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

10.10.2025 17:55 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Another Kentucky county school board votes against off-campus Bible classes The Oldham County School Board voted 5-0 to not allow off-campus Bible classes for students during the school day.

www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

09.10.2025 01:23 — 👍 0    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Parents angry KY public school hosted Christian band & shared devotional pamphlets ‘We want to respect the constitutional rights of all members of our community,’ Breathitt superintendent said after parent objected.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

08.10.2025 10:28 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Report: Emails indicate why FCPS budget director was suspended FCPS budget director’s lawyer said she repeatedly warned supervisors of problems, but they say she withheld information, emails show.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

06.10.2025 23:20 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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FCPS Budget director no longer on administrative leave, district says Ann Sampson Grimes, who filed a lawsuit against Fayette County Public Schools, was placed on leave Aug. 15.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

26.09.2025 00:57 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Man convicted of killing UK player in ‘90s back in court in another new case Shane Ragland, convicted of killing a UK offensive lineman in 1994, will have a mental health review after pleading guilty to 2 new charges.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

21.09.2025 19:37 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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KSP investigated sodomy, seized brooms in KY football high school hazing inquiry A Kentucky State Police report says brooms were seized as part of a McCreary football hazing investigation.

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

19.09.2025 20:34 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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School board: Investigator hired to dig into claims against Superintendent Liggins Ashland attorney will investigate budget director’s allegations of Liggins’ retaliation

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

18.09.2025 18:32 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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School board: Investigator hired to dig into claims against Superintendent Liggins Ashland attorney will investigate budget director’s allegations of Liggins’ retaliation

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

18.09.2025 18:32 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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KY auditor will ask the state legislature to pay for the FCPS special audit Fayette County school board pursuing separate independent financial examination, including forensic audit

www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

17.09.2025 10:58 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

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