The K-8 Cold Spring School, which is known for its competitive robotics team and STEM programs, had sought to amend its Innovation Network agreement with Indianapolis Public Schools.
The charter school plans to grow enrollment to 825 students in grades 6-12 by 2029-30.
A credit card assigned to the former charter school official accrued tens of thousands of dollars in travel, high-end dining and alcohol purchases.
The outcome keeps in place a court decision that invalidated a vote by a state charter school board to approve the nation’s first religious charter school. But it leaves the issue unresolved nationally.
Leaders hope the merger of Ace Prep and Circle City Prep will bring financial stability to a small school with a strong academic track record.
Supporters say denying full public funding to religious public charter schools amounts to anti-religious discrimination since states allow full taxpayer funding to other types of charter schools.
Most funding increases for Indiana charter schools won’t take place until 2028, when state law mandates that districts must begin sharing property taxes used for operating expenses.
The question of whether charter schools perform better academically than traditional IPS schools is a key focus of debates about funding and educational success.
Under the bill that advanced Wednesday, the group will develop a plan for the collaborative use of transportation and facilities between IPS and charter schools within IPS boundaries.
Brian Metcalf, who led the charter network from July 2019 through December 2022, pleaded guilty to two of the nine counts of wire fraud outlined in an indictment filed in 2023.
Indiana lawmakers are advancing a bill to force the district to share property tax revenue with charter schools. While charter advocates support the change, IPS worries about creating an unsustainable system.
Leaders of the Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy face both federal and state cases in which they’re accused of defrauding the state of millions of dollars.
House Bill 1136, the most extreme bill facing the district, would dissolve IPS and its elected school board and replace it with charter schools overseen by an appointed board.
A Republican-backed bill that could dissolve five Indiana school districts, including Indianapolis Public Schools, sparked backlash from advocates and district leaders who argue the legislation unfairly targets high-poverty and urban districts that primarily educate children of color.
Indiana Charter Innovation Center President and CEO Scott Bess wants traditional public school districts to share property tax proportionally.
The 6-0 approval extends the district’s relationship with the schools—most of which are charters—until June 2030.
The schools up for renewal this week served a total of roughly 3,900 students last year and show varying levels of increased, decreased, or stagnant test results in the years immediately preceding and following the pandemic.
The race for four seats on the Indianapolis Public Schools board could significantly reshape the board’s makeup, with more candidates who are critical of charter schools.
Peterson, 66, will be succeeded by David Harris, who worked in the Peterson administration and currently is the executive vice president of Christel House International.
In some cases, charters are an option only for those families who can afford to drive or live close enough to walk to school.
