That the city’s schools sit on the cusp of radical change is the culmination of over half a century’s worth of disruptions for Indianapolis schools that opened the door for education reformers and their allies to advance their vision.
The new corporation would have the power to impose property taxes, which it would distribute to both charter and IPS schools.
The proposed step came on the eve of of a scheduled Wednesday vote by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance that could result in major changes to IPS and charter schools.
The lawsuit claims that district policies supporting undocumented students violate state law.
In a breakout group during the session that focused on the best structure for governing schools, supporters of both IPS and charter schools said either option could result in more bureaucracy.
The 4 governance options unveiled at the group’s recent meeting range from a fully elected IPS school board to a fully appointed one.
The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance has presented a slew of potential solutions for how to share school transportation and buildings. But a larger question looms: Who should govern charter and district schools?
If done today, reducing the boundaries of Indianapolis Public Schools to only include Center Township would remove 47 district and charter schools from IPS borders.
The raises come at an increasingly precarious time for IPS, which faces a funding cliff. The district is projected to end 2026 with an estimated $44 million deficit, according to cash flow projections from September.
As the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance considers changes to the city’s education landscape, supporters of charters and traditional public schools have indicated support for a universal school-rating system.
The sale of a 16-acre portion of the 40-acre John Marshall campus at 10101 E. 38th St. marks the end of the district’s history with the school, which first opened in 1967.
The transition was meant to ensure “that every student has what they need to be successful, regardless of their identity,” the district said in a statement Wednesday.
The deal is contingent on whether the district can successfully petition the city to rezone the property for special commercial use.
Many of the pieces of art, which date from the 1890s through the 1970s, once hung in IPS schools that are now closed, according to the district.
Transportation and facilities are two of the most challenging topics for charter schools, which have historically not received property tax funding.
In a letter of requests to the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, the IPS board reiterated previous calls to keep the school board democratically elected.
Michael O’Connor, a principal of the Bose Public Affairs Group and a former chair of the Indianapolis Public Schools board, will lead the consulting work as part of the city’s contract with Bose.
The school’s downtown location on South Meridian Street is central to Legal Prep’s desire to be close to the city’s legal and business community.
A 2020 building study commissioned by the district concluded that the brick building—built in 1938—had the lowest overall facility quality in the district.
Indiana lawmakers created the pilot program earlier this year after a confrontational legislative session in which Republican legislators called for more efficiency in the Indianapolis school environment.
