Indianapolis Public Schools board member Allissa Impink announced Tuesday she will resign from the school board June 15, timing her departure so voters can choose her replacement in the general election.
Impink was first elected to the seven-member board in November 2024, running uncontested in District 4. Less than 18 months later she won the Democratic primary for Indiana Senate District 46 and faces no Republican opponent in the November general election.
By resigning before this year's school board candidate filing deadline — noon on June 18 — her resignation triggers a provision in Indiana code that requires voters to elect a successor for the remainder of her term, which runs through December 2028.
"If I were to remain on this board until I was sworn into the Senate, the board would appoint someone to fill my vacancy, and that person would serve through 2028 without ever appearing on a ballot," Impink said during Tuesday’s board meeting. "I do not believe that is the right outcome for District 4."
Her departure is the second early exit from the group of commissioners elected in November 2024. Gayle Cosby, who won District 2 in that same election, resigned in March citing health challenges. Under the same state law provision, Cosby's seat — now held by appointed commissioner Hasaan Rashid — also returns to voters in November.
Combined with three seats that expire this year — held by board President Hope Duke Star (District 3), Vice President Nicole Carey (District 5) and At-Large Commissioner Angelia Moore — Impink's resignation puts five of the seven board seats on the November ballot.
The election comes as IPS faces a deepening fiscal crisis. The district projects a $40 million cash deficit at year's end and has already cut $17 million from central office operations and $7 million from individual school budgets. IPS's operating referendum also expires at the end of 2026.
The election also comes as state lawmakers have already curtailed the elected board's traditional authority, transferring control of IPS buildings, transportation and property tax levying to a new state-created body, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC. The corporation is also working on whether to put a new levy on the November ballot and must decide this summer.
For the first time, school board races in Indiana will be partisan under a new state law. Candidates must file petitions of nomination by noon on June 18.
Impink is the IPS board secretary, the Women's Foundation of Indiana's director of statewide community engagement, and a former teacher.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle
