The newly established Indianapolis Public Education Corporation board faces its first consequential decision in the coming weeks. It needs to decide on a new operating referendum rate to put to voters in the November election.
The mayor-appointed board will vote on a new rate that will affect how much property tax revenue flows to both charter and traditional public schools within the Indianapolis Public Schools district.
The board was created earlier this year by state lawmakers to reshape the Indianapolis education system so that resources are used more efficiently and equitably across the district’s public schools.
IPS’s current referendum rate of close to 20 cents per $100 of property assessed value was approved by voters in 2018 and is set to expire at the end of this year. That could leave the district with a $40 million cash deficit.
During the nine-member board’s second meeting, they heard presentations from IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and Andy Seibert, CEO of TogetherEd, which collaborates with many charter schools across the city, on possible choices for a referendum rate.
Johnson presented scenarios showing what would happen to the district if the referendum rate were simply renewed at its current amount. She said that would more than likely place them under the intervention of the state’s Distressed Unit Appeal Board.
The best-case scenario for the district that Johnson presented is if the rate was increased to 55 cents, which she says would generate around $131 million for the district to split among charter and IPS schools. This rate could mean an increase of $26 per month for taxpayers with a $200,000 home value, according to IPS.
She said the new rate, along with the continued reduction in IPS spending of around $700,000, could result in the most stable outcome for all students in the district, which she believes should be IPEC's highest priority.
“Ultimately your decision around whether to move a referendum forward and at what rate, will determine the level of stability or disruption that our students, that our staff, that our families, and our neighborhoods need to prepare for,” Johnson said.
Seibert shared that among the charter school leaders he’s spoken with they don’t have a set rate in mind but all believe a rate needs to be chosen that can be realistically passed by voters and provides robust resources for all students in the city.
“It's super crucial that this passes, and so how we scope it and talk to the community about it has to be done in a way that gets this done for all schools and all students in the city,” Seibert said.
Of the five different funding scenarios Johnson presented, all showed potential impacts students could face. The consequences could result in possible school closures or consolidations, reductions in personnel, termination of innovation school agreements, reductions in programming, or transportation.
The worst-case scenario projected that 27,000 students could be impacted if the rate were raised by only 10 more cents.
Even if the rate were increased to 55 cents, Johnson still estimates that around 2,000 students could still be affected by the changes.
Both Johnson and Seibert agreed that IPEC should pursue a four-year term for the new rate, which would provide more stability than a two-year term.
In addition to which rate IPEC should pursue, there is also the question of how much state funding they can expect from lawmakers during next year’s budget session.
IPS currently has a $50 million funding gap between what they spend on special education and English Language Learning services and what those services actually cost.
Various scenarios presented Thursday night by the Indy Chamber also consider which rate to pursue, depending on changes in state funding and any further cost-cutting measures the district could undertake.
Susan Preble, the vice president of state government affairs for the Indy Chamber, shared the various scenarios and while she didn’t say if the chamber had a preferred rate, she did say the chamber supports a referendum.
Preble noted that across the state, school districts of all types will likely be seeking referenda due to changes made to property taxes last year, inflation costs and enrollment factors.
“The fact that all of these school types are going out for operating referendum says to me that, and this has been my experience in my career, is that we're not funding public education in an adequate way for any school, including charter schools,” Preble said.
Based on the chamber’s estimates of the various referendum rates, taxpayers could see an annual tax increase of anywhere from $169 to $475.
Receiving the Indy Chamber's blessing on the new referendum rate is vital for the district if it would like to see it pass. The Indy Chamber has been influential in years past about determining what rate IPS should pursue, and in 2023 had a hand in fully stopping the district from pursuing an increased operating referendum.
IPEC is expected to take a final vote on the referendum rate during its June 22 meeting at 5 p.m. at the Indianapolis City-County Building.
State law requires final action by Aug. 1 for a question to make it on the November ballot.
Upcoming listening sessions
IPEC is planning at least two listening sessions between now and its next meeting June 22.
Listening sessions will be held at:
- June 4, from 6-8 p.m. at Arsenal Tech High School’s media center
- June 10, from 12-2 p.m. - Location to be determined
Updates about when and where meetings or listening sessions will be held will be regularly updated on IPEC’s website.
Job posting for executive director for IPEC
The IPEC board also approved the job description for the executive director of the board, who will oversee all IPEC operations.
The salary range for the position was determined to be between $235,000 to $325,000.
Acting executive director Mike O’Connor said during Thursday’s meeting that they believe that salary range is competitive enough to attract a strong pool of applicants. It was created based on research of what surrounding school superintendents and municipal corporation presidents are being paid.
The job posting will be on IPEC’s website and the Indianapolis City-County Council jobs board for a two-week period.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.
