Leroy Littles has not been allowed to work around Jefferson County Public Schools students in more than three years, yet he has continued collecting his full six-figure salary every year since, a total that has now reached roughly $550,000. The arrangement traces back to March 13, 2023, the very day Littles reported for his first shift as principal of Frederick Law Olmsted Academy North, when Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies arrested him at the school.
An Arrest on Day One
The payment total was detailed in reporting by the Louisville Courier Journal, which found that Littles has received his full salary each year since he became unable to work around students. The arrest itself stemmed from a Bullitt County warrant charging Littles with third-degree terroristic threatening and fourth-degree assault, both Class A misdemeanors tied to an alleged domestic dispute on Christmas Day 2022, according to Law & Crime. Police alleged the dispute involved an argument and physical altercation with his ex-partner's companion.
Under Kentucky law, third-degree terroristic threatening and fourth-degree assault each carry up to 12 months in jail upon conviction, and misdemeanor cases like this one proceed through district court, the outlet reported. Littles had just been appointed days earlier to lead the all-boys middle school, according to WHAS11. The station reported that JCPS immediately designated Assistant Principal Ebony Booker to take over operational leadership of Olmsted Academy North, with district administrators notifying parents of the shift through formal correspondence.
A Long District Career Before the Arrest
Before his brief tenure as principal, Littles had spent more than 16 years within JCPS, working as an English teacher, a behavior coach, an assistant principal at Valley High School, and a principal intern at Waggener High School, according to background provided by Jefferson County Public Schools. District leadership had previously highlighted his work reducing achievement gaps. He was appointed to lead Olmsted Academy North after completing the Jefferson County Leadership Academy, a district program used to cultivate internal candidates for school administrative positions.
JCPS policy allows employees facing internal disciplinary reviews or pending criminal charges to be reassigned to non-instructional duties away from students while their cases are evaluated, keeping them away from direct student contact but on the payroll, the district's policy states. That framework is what has allowed Littles to keep earning his salary for more than three years without returning to a school building.
Littles Pushes Back With Discrimination Lawsuit
In March 2024, Littles filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against JCPS and his accuser, alleging racial discrimination and claiming he was misidentified in the incident, the station reported. The suit asserted that white employees facing similar charges were not subjected to the same reassignment actions, and it alleged that district officials had asked law enforcement to delay serving the warrant until Littles transferred schools.
Separately, under Kentucky Revised Statutes § 161.120, local school superintendents are required to report educator discipline and termination matters to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board for potential credential review, per FindLaw. The state board maintains independent authority to suspend or revoke educator credentials regardless of how the local personnel matter is resolved.
A District Already Facing Deep Budget Strain
The continued payments to Littles land at a difficult moment for JCPS finances. The district is projecting a $188 million operating deficit for the 2026–27 school year, a shortfall that has already driven proposals for school closures and consolidations, as Hoodline previously reported. Expiring federal relief funds have forced the district to scrutinize operational overhead, making long-running, full-salary reassignments like this one a point of public scrutiny even as officials weigh cutting programs elsewhere.
Hoodline has also reported on the broader leadership churn inside JCPS this year, including a wave of more than 30 new administrative appointments across the district. Littles' case illustrates the tension between the district's legal obligation to preserve due process for employees facing unresolved charges and litigation, and taxpayer concerns over sustained six-figure payments to an administrator who has not set foot in a classroom in years.
