Supporters of both charter and traditional schools worry a new governance structure would create more bureaucracy and fail to address academic issues.

The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance could make specific recommendations for key issues like funding, transportation, and the growth of public schools — or it could let state lawmakers fill in the blanks.

Charter school leaders have expressed support for some parts of recommendations advanced by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.

The ILEA will select its final recommendations for changing how local public schools are run to state lawmakers in a Dec. 17 vote.

The 4 governance options unveiled at the group’s recent meeting range from a fully elected IPS school board to a fully appointed one.

Of the options that the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance could recommend, 3 of the 4 would shift power away from the current elected school board.

Proposed governance changes from the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance range from an elected IPS board that oversees both district and charter schools to an IPS board fully appointed by the mayor.

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?

Board members have floated the idea as a potential way to right-size the district, but have stressed they would not act on it without community input.

The new 2025-27 teacher contract bumps the minimum starting salary to $54,800.