LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - As the saying goes, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
In 2014, then-State Auditor Adam Edelen launched an investigation into Fayette County Public Schools. The district was facing a $20 million budget deficit at the time.
Fast-forward to today, FCPS is in a similar position.
Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins told WKYT's Samantha Valentino he wasn't worried about what Ball would find, inviting her to take a "fair and honest look" at the district's books.
The district is also facing a contingency of just $26.3 million, despite an initial projection of $41,972,760.
Dr. Liggins informed board members last week that the district doesn't know what happened to the money, but an investigation is underway.
The investigation comes after FCPS' Executive Director of Budget and Financial Planning says she has been placed on administrative leave after raising red flags about the district's financial troubles.
In a letter to Superintendent Liggins and Board Chair Tyler Murphy, Ann Sampson-Grimes' attorney, Brandon Voelker, said she started warning Deputy Superintendent Dr. Houston Barber and Finance Director Rodney Jackson that cuts needed to be made back in 2024.
However, the letter says those warnings were ignored.
More than a decade ago, in 2014, then-Auditor Edelen launched his investigation into FCPS.
It came as the district tried to navigate a $20 million budget shortfall, and after their budget director wrote a letter accusing leaders of fraud and mismanagement.
"This is something unique to Fayette County that we haven't seen in a whole lot of other places, is how public the allegations have been," Edelen told WKYT in 2014.
FCPS' then-Budget Director, Julane Mullins, sent a scathing letter to board members, the state auditor, and the Office of Education and Accountability.
"I feel compelled to provide this information to the board to shed light on the facts surrounding the current budget crisis and suspected violations of law and numerous acts of mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse of authority that have resulted in the current state of affairs," Mullins wrote.
In the letter, Mullins pointed fingers at then, and current, Finance Director Rodney Jackson. She claimed Jackson knew what was happening with the budget, and submitted a late budget entry with inflated numbers. Mullins said she also informed then-Superintendent Tom Shelton about this.
"Instead, he continued to spend as if there were no crisis, and with some of the expenditures being in violation of Board Policy as outlined below," Mullins wrote.
Then-Superintendent Shelton called Mullins' letter a "misunderstanding," inviting the auditor to investigate, saying the district had nothing to hide.
In response to Mullins' accusations, Jackson told the board he'd clearly articulated and described their financial situation, adding there were no irregularities in the budget.
"I want to reiterate there is not $20 million missing and there was never $20 million missing," Jackson told the board.
In September 2014, then-auditor Edelen announced his findings.
Among them were poor financial management, weak policies, and failed communications.
The audit claimed administrators making more than $100,000 received a nearly 25% pay raise over a four-year period, while teachers received less than 10%.
A trust fund left behind by a former FCPS teacher, meant to support teachers' educational enhancement, was instead used by the district's financial department.
"When we have something that is available to be used to benefit teachers, it needs to be communicated as marketed to them that it's available. $1,500 or $2,000 changes the academic year for a teacher, when they can afford to buy materials that are lacking in the classroom," then-Auditor Edelen said in 2014.
Edelen's audit also mentioned questionable spending on work trips.
In some cases, the audit found, employees may have misled the board about the number of people attending certain conferences.
What it didn't find was any evidence of criminal activity.
However, the findings led some to question then-Superintendent Shelton's ability to lead.
Three board members pledged their support for Shelton, while two expressed concerns.
"I'm very angry, and to be quite honest with you, if we reelected, I would probably at this point not vote to renew his contract in June of 2015," then-Board Member Doug Barnett told WKYT in 2014.
At the time, Shelton stood firm with the school system's slogan, "It's about kids," and wanted the focus to be back on what he said mattered.
"It has been a distraction that has kept us from being able to focus on what our true mission and purpose is, and the distraction has gone on too long," Shelton said in 2014.
The district was given 60 days to develop a corrective action plan in response to the audit's findings.
Shelton shared plans to address issues, including hiring outside consultants and restructuring the finance and budget divisions.
The following week, the board passed its working budget.
In November, just two months after the audit's findings were released, Shelton announced his resignation.
He shared his plans to move on to a new opportunity, becoming the executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents.