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Is this thing even on?
That’s what people at a public hearing on the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance wondered after the mic briefly stopped working — a technical glitch that underscored their real question: whether the group had not only heard but truly understood concerns about their work so far.
Those comments from some of the roughly two dozen attendees at the Madam Walker Legacy Center on Monday took place two days before the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s vote on its final recommendations Wednesday.
The alliance is considering two proposals that would both reduce the power of the elected IPS school board. One would give oversight of charter and IPS schools to a collaborative board consisting of IPS, mayoral, and charter school appointees. Another would give oversight to an independent Indianapolis Education Authority within the mayor’s office, and create a new secretary of education position.
But would an appointed board listen and be responsive to the public’s views about schools? Several people in the audience on Monday were skeptical. They pointed out that the ILEA — which consists of appointed members — was advancing proposals to create appointed boards, despite public support for elected ones.
“The thing I see here is consolidation of executive authority to individuals who do not have direct accountability to the public,” said Madison Whitcomb, a community member. “I don’t want people appointing anybody. I want them elected. When I elect someone, I have a voice in that.”
ILEA member and former mayor Bart Peterson rejected the idea that public feedback had reached any kind of consensus. Ultimately, the ILEA’s recommendations will likely leave some people disappointed, he said.
“It’s not about pleasing any individual,” he said. “It’s about trying to figure out the best thing to do for our city, for our students, and our families.”
It’s unclear whether state lawmakers will adopt the task force’s recommendations or mandate their own changes.
The alliance was created by state lawmakers to make recommendations on how charters and Indianapolis Public Schools could share transportation and facility resources. But to address those challenges, the group is also tackling the question of who in the city should have oversight of public schools.
Groups supporting IPS have criticized the two proposals to change how schools are run, and instead have called for an elected school board to oversee both district and charter schools. On Monday, they also raised concerns about how the city would fund a new secretary of education position and other staff necessary to maintain the proposed Indianapolis Education Authority.
But IPS has financial concerns, too, including a precipitous funding cliff that could lead to schools closing, said Chris Bultman executive director of external affairs at Indiana Math and Science Academy, an independent charter school.
“That would be bad, that would reduce choice,” he said.
IPS currently operates at a deficit that’s reached tens of millions of dollars, said Andrew Strope, IPS deputy superintendent, who spoke at the public comment session. And the effects of a new law that both caps property tax revenue and requires school districts to share that revenue with charter schools will further impact the district’s operations fund by up to $50 million.
Some charter school supporters have praised some aspects of the two proposals the ILEA will consider Wednesday, but have also warned the group not to recommend infringing on charters’ independence.
Bultman said he liked the ILEA’s proposed governance models because they retained his school’s elected board to make decisions for the school. But the ILEA should avoid limiting the number of charter authorizers, or placing a moratorium on new schools, he said.
Stand for Children Indiana, an advocacy group that’s backed the expansion of charter school models, has proposed a board that’s partly elected and partly appointed by the mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.
Stand for Children has also called for an end to district-run schools, calling for all schools to be autonomous — either as an Innovation Network school or a charter school — with their own boards. The head of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center has also called for all schools to become autonomous.
The task force is also considering two sets of proposals for how IPS and charters could share transportation and facilities. In one model, schools would participate in and pay into a collaborative that manages transportation and building services. In another model, an independent authority would collect property taxes and oversee those services.
The ILEA will meet at 6 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the City-County Building at 200 E. Washington St. and will take another hour of public comment before discussing and then voting on final recommendations.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
