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Indianapolis voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to decide the leadership and financial future of the city’s schools.
Five of seven IPS school board seats are on the ballot, with 15 candidates in total running. They will take their seats as responsibility for IPS buildings and transportation shifts to the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, a body created by lawmakers this year to share resources between the district and charter schools.
How the new board members approach a working relationship with IPEC, as well as the city’s robust charter school sector, could influence how this process unfolds. Already, the charter school sector has complained about the district’s decisions to step back from a unified enrollment system and reevaluate its contracts with Innovation Network charter schools, which IPS does not directly control.
The current school board did not act to reverse these decisions, despite calls from charter school advocates to do so.
Voters are also deciding on a $95 million referendum that will provide critical funding for the district; the district would share the money with charters. But even if it passes, IPS expects to make around $20 million in cuts. If it doesn’t pass, the district will potentially face insolvency.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day. Voting locations are available here.
Chalkbeat’s guide to the school board candidates is available here, and a recap of a forum featuring the candidates is here.
This story will be updated throughout the evening with election results as they become available.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
