District management
The ILEA’s recommendations are heading to lawmakers, who see the potential to replicate many of them throughout the state but could be skeptical of giving mayors more power.
The 8-1 vote on the recommendations came amid increasing public pressure to retain the power of the elected school board over district buildings and transportation.
The day before the ILEA votes on final recommendations to send to lawmakers, the mayor and superintendent announced five things they want to see in the final draft. But a plan for who oversees schools didn’t make their list.
The two proposals favored by the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance would dilute the power of the elected school board.
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 Indianapolis Local Education Alliance is meeting Dec. 3 to start narrowing down recommendations for changing who runs schools.
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.
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.
Increased mayoral control over Indianapolis Public Schools and the city’s charters could mirror how schools are run in New York City and Washington, D.C. But would it work smoothly with Unigov?
As the ILEA considers big changes to Indianapolis education, supporters of both charters and traditional public schools have indicated support for a universal school rating system.
Voters in six school districts cast ballots on Tuesday to decide whether referendums should pass. Only one district’s referendum failed.
New property tax laws are expected to put pressure on schools’ long-term budgets, raising the stakes in next month’s elections.
Shenia Suggs has worked in the school district on the west side of Indianapolis for more than 30 years. She will take over as superintendent in January when outgoing Superintendent Jeff Butts leaves.
The eastside school district is considering moving fifth graders back into elementary schools as a way to balance enrollment and replicate popular programs.
Jeff Butts shares lessons learned from leading the district on the west side of Marion County and discusses what’s next for him.
Converting to a charter school would have provided the K-8 school an additional $400,000 per year, according to one official, that would have funded a new foreign language teacher and a school resource officer.