State audit finds Jefferson County Public Schools ran chronic budget deficits for four straight years while raising property taxes to the legal maximum every year, plus a 'culture of fear' of retaliation

Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts Allison Ball released a 503-page special examination of Jefferson County Public Schools on June 30, 2026 (legislatively mandated in 2024, reviewing July 2022-June 2025), finding the district's expenses exceeded revenues every year from FY2022 through FY2026 despite the school board approving the maximum allowed property tax increase annually since 2016, that JCPS lacked a cohesive strategic plan, that a 'fear of retaliation' existed in the district's culture, and that the district ran a deficit even after receiving $500 million in COVID relief funds. JCPS accumulated a $188 million budget deficit.