Indianapolis Public Schools Board is accepting applications to fill a vacant seat, following the resignation of District 4 Commissioner Allissa Impink.
The board will appoint a replacement to serve until the Nov. 3 general election, when voters will choose someone to finish the term. State law requires the board to fill the vacancy within 30 days.
Impink resigned effective June 15 after winning the Democratic primary for Indiana Senate District 46. She timed her departure so voters — not a long-term appointee — would pick her successor.
Applicants must currently live in District 4, which includes the areas south and west of downtown, and have lived within the IPS district for at least one year. They cannot have a felony conviction unless it was pardoned, reversed, vacated or set aside. The application is available here.
The board will follow this timeline:
June 16-23: Applications and resumes are accepted through the board's online form. The deadline is 5 p.m. June 23.
June 23: The board meets in executive session to select three finalists.
June 24: Finalists are interviewed publicly in the IPS central office at 6 p.m.
June 25: The board votes on the appointment during its 6 p.m. action session. At least four votes are required, and the appointee takes the oath of office at the close of the meeting.
The new commissioner must attend onboarding sessions beginning the week of June 29.
District 2 board member Gayle Cosby resigned in March due to health issues. The board appointed Hasaan Rashid to fill the seat.
Impink's exit puts five of the seven board seats on the November ballot. The vacancy comes as IPS confronts a projected $40 million deficit and has cut $24 million from central office and school budgets. The district'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 called the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC. The corporation will soon vote on adding a new property tax levy to the November ballot.
The deadline for school board candidates to appear on the Marion County ballot is noon Thursday.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle
