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The Indianapolis Education Alliance will meet Dec. 3 to narrow down possible recommendations for changing who oversees schools and how school buildings and buses are managed.
The meeting is from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the public assembly room of the City County Building, said Shaina Cavazos, director of the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.
ILEA members acknowledged at their last meeting that in order to recommend changes to building and transportation management — the main task assigned to them by state lawmakers — they need to address school oversight. The group heard four options for doing so, including ones that would drastically limit the power of the elected board for Indianapolis Public Schools.
On Dec. 3, the ILEA is expected to go over the options for how to change the management of facilities, transportation, and school oversight, and narrow them down. The alliance could decide to not pick one of the presented options, and instead combine elements to create a new option, or choose something entirely different, ILEA consultant Michael O’Connor previously told Chalkbeat.
A majority of alliance members told Chalkbeat that they don’t yet have a preferred option for how to change school oversight. However, multiple members said they are considering appointed board members for schools, as well as reducing the number of charter authorizers. Other members, however, support elected school boards.
After the meeting, the ILEA will host public input sessions on the transportation, facilities, and governance models that the group likes best, before voting on its final recommendations to city and state leaders on Dec. 17.
The time and location of that meeting has not yet been announced.
Give the ILEA your feedback on the options for governance, transportation, and facilities from the November meeting here. You can also send general feedback to the ILEA by emailing ILEA@indy.gov.
Chalkbeat reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey contributed to this article.
MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.
