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When I was a sixth-grader at Calvin Kendall Elementary School in 1980, the former deputy mayor took my classmates and me on a field trip to see the model for what would one day become White River State Park.
I’ll never forget what he said: We have a 40-year vision for Indianapolis. Someday, our city could be a world leader in innovation, the arts and business. But the only way that will happen is if you bring that vision forward. My challenge to you is to give back and get involved. Stay in the community. Invest in the young folks the way we’re investing in you.
He asked us to pledge that when we grew up, we would pay it forward.
That man’s name was Jim Morris, and I have not forgotten the promise I made him 40 years ago. I also haven’t forgotten what he said about public schools: You can’t have a terrific city unless you have a really strong public school system.
I’ve been blessed to have an incredible life and career across many sectors, from tech entrepreneur to government to high education, and I attribute much of my success to the investment Indianapolis Public Schools made in me. I was an IPS kid from kindergarten through 12th grade and benefited enormously from the support of so many teachers, coaches and mentors over the years who encouraged me to pursue my interest in business, leadership and technology. I’m enormously grateful for that, and I carry a deep belief that every kid deserves these opportunities.
Unfortunately, we’re getting dangerously close to a world where public schools are diminished—without deeply considering the long-term consequences for our community. Recently, we lost half the workforce at the U.S. Department of Education. And in Indiana, our Legislature is considering a bill that would require IPS to forfeit a large portion of its property tax revenue to local charter schools. IPS officials say this would cut the district’s budget in half, forcing 20 schools to close and rolling back many of the achievements IPS has made investing in excellent facilities, extracurricular activities and academic offerings.
This is not what the community voted for when it approved the Rebuilding Stronger capital referendum in May 2023, and it’s not going to solve the challenges our city’s schools are facing.
We can’t let this moment become a tug-of-war between district schools and charter schools. I’m pro-school choice, and I’m pro-innovation (as a matter of fact, Calvin Kendall was what would now be called an experimental IPS innovation school, and I loved it so much that I made a career in innovation). The reality is that it is impossible to hollow out our public school district and fight for opportunity at the same time. Taking from kids at district schools to give to kids at charters is akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Quality charter schools absolutely merit greater funding, transportation options and overall support, but not through a zero-sum approach. The current zero-sum framing does a disservice first and foremost to our young people but also to our city’s economy.
Our community came together behind the vision of terrific public schools when we voted for Rebuilding Stronger in 2023. We said yes to excellent offerings for all students in every neighborhood. We said yes to more internships and arts programs and athletics. We said yes to pre-K for all kids in the city. In Superintendent Aleesia Johnson’s words, “The progress we’ve started to make just this year will be extremely hard to preserve amid the proposed cuts. It will be virtually impossible to continue making our best offerings available to every family in every neighborhood. With a budget of this size, we will have to scale back.”
If we bend our district schools to the point of breaking, it will do a lot of harm to our community. From a purely economic perspective, it is far more efficient to invest in public education so people can get into well-paid jobs that provide dignity for their lives than to support a growing number of people with our critical social safety net programs. And from a business perspective, our greatest need here in Indianapolis and in Indiana is high-skilled, innovative talent.
I wouldn’t be true to my values if I didn’t advocate for strong public schools. When Mr. Morris asked me to put my hand on my heart, that’s what he was asking of me. To lift up others and make a difference. Consider making the same pledge I made: Support a strong city by supporting our public schools.•
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Trinkle is senior vice president of talent, strategy and partnerships at TechPoint.
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Excellent points Dennis.
Your insights resonate deeply with our mission at the STARTedUP Foundation. We believe that building a strong city starts with investing in strong educators—and we’re proud to support a network of teachers who are creating classrooms where students see problems as opportunities. Like you, we’re committed to strengthening public schools by empowering the very people who make the biggest difference: our teachers.