Voters will decide on a majority of the Indianapolis Public Schools Board this fall, with five of seven seats on the Nov. 3 ballot — the most consequential board election in years.
Candidates vying for the seats include incumbents, district parents, educators, charter school staffers and an originator of Indiana’s charter school law.
Two of the open seats come from resignations. District 2 Commissioner Gayle Cosby resigned in March, citing health issues; the board appointed Hasaan Rashid to fill her seat through the election. District 4 Commissioner Allissa Impink stepped down June 15 after winning the Democratic primary for Indiana Senate District 46, timing her exit so voters could pick her successor. The board will pick a temporary replacement June 25.
The other three seats — District 3, District 5 and one At-Large seat — are held by commissioners whose terms expire at the end of 2026.
The election lands as IPS confronts a deepening fiscal crisis. The district projects a roughly $40 million deficit and has cut around $24 million from central office and school budgets, and its operating referendum expires at the end of 2026.
It also comes after state lawmakers took away much of the elected board's traditional power, handing control of IPS buildings, transportation and property tax levying to a new body created by the state and appointed by the mayor, the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC.
The IPS board will adopt policies, set district-wide goals, and hire and evaluate the superintendent. School board members don't oversee day-to-day school operations.
This is also the first year Indiana school board races are partisan. Under a law that took effect July 2025, candidates can now declare a party, run as an independent, or list no affiliation, and that designation appears on the ballot.
A list of candidates who filed by the noon June 18 deadline is below. Their information is drawn from WFYI interviews and filing paperwork.
At Large
Heather Houston, Independent — An instructional coach with a special education license at innovation-network school Liberty Grove Schools at Elder Diggs 42, Houston said she is running to rebuild trust between schools, families and the community and to keep decisions centered on students. She filed as an independent, she said, because she wants the campaign to focus on students and educators be above party politics. Houston previously worked for IPS.
Angelia Lois Moore, Democrat — Moore is the incumbent at-large commissioner, on the board since January 2023. She is also a finance manager for the City of Indianapolis, working in the Office of Public Health and Safety on financial and grant management. A former IPS student, employee and parent, Moore has four children who attended IPS. In her survey response for the 2022 WFYI/Chalkbeat Indiana voter guide, she said her run was driven by those experiences, and her belief that "education belongs to the community" and that every student can succeed when given a real chance.
Alexander S. Nyirendah, Democrat — Nyirendah is vice chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party and is director of the Marion County Board of Voter Registration. He has worked for the education advocacy group RISE Indy, Eleven Fifty Academy and Mayor Joe Hogsett's 2019 campaign, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Sacha Nicole Sharp, Democrat — A mother of three IPS students and an assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Sharp said she is running to support a sustainable IPS that produces high-achieving students. She pointed to the financial transition under IPEC and corporate interests in city education as major issues. She filed as a Democrat, she said, because she has always identified and voted that way, citing her background as a first-generation, low-income Black woman.
District 2
Bryan Duarte, Democrat — Duarte is an assistant professor at the Purdue University College of Education. The first in his family born in the U.S. and to attend college, he said he is running to hold public schools accountable. He said the biggest challenge facing IPS is that its fiscal future "falls at the mercy of the mayor-appointed IPEC," which he described as made up of people with a stake in schools not fully run by IPS. Duarte said he filed as a Democrat because it most closely aligns with how he votes, though he said he does not believe school board races should be partisan.
Hasaan Rashid, Democrat — Rashid was appointed to the District 2 seat in March 2026 to replace Gayle Cosby, who resigned citing health challenges. Rashid works for Utility Pipe Sales, in the water and sewer industry, and founded the annual Brendon Park Live Music Festival. He lost the District 2 seat to Cosby in the 2024 election before the board appointed him on a 4-2 vote over Bryan Duarte. During that 2024 race he named a student literacy crisis as his top priority and said charter growth should be driven by quality, not expansion "for expansion's sake."
District 3
Loren Eugene Heger, Democrat — An attorney who helped build the private-markets firm FNEX, Heger said his family was happy in IPS until the district’s Rebuilding Stronger reorganization strategy. He said many of his daughter's fifth-grade classmates left the district in sixth grade due to the changes. He said the district needs to streamline operations and grow enrollment to stay viable. Asked why he filed as a Democrat, he said: "Easy question, I'm a Democrat."
Derek Redelman, Independent — Redelman has been described as the “architect of Indiana’s original 2001 charter school law” and has spent three decades working on education issues. He runs his own consulting firm and is a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute. Redelman is an IPS graduate who said he sees a significant opportunity to improve his home district. He cited academic performance and declining enrollment as the biggest issues. Redelman said he never thought partisan school board races were a good idea, so he is running as an independent.
Hope Duke Star, Democrat — Star is the incumbent and current board president, on the board since January 2023. She is also the children's services manager at Dayspring Center, an emergency shelter for homeless families. Star said she is running for reelection because IPS needs "experienced, steady leadership" through a period of major change, pointing to her role guiding the district through the implementation of the state law that created the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation. Star also sits on the IPEC board. She is an IPS graduate and parent of an IPS graduate.
Daqavise D. Winston, Democrat — Winston is a classroom teacher at MSD Warren Township and said he is running to bring a student-centered perspective to the board and to strengthen public trust. He said balancing long-term sustainability with improving student outcomes are the district's biggest challenges. He filed as a Democrat, he said, because the party's commitment to public education aligns with his values, while adding that school board service "should be focused on students, not politics." Winston ran for the IPS District 2 seat in 2020 and lost to then-incumbent Venita Moore.
District 4
Chris Bultman, Democrat — Bultman is regional director of external affairs at Concept Schools' Indiana office, the charter management organization for Indianapolis Math and Science Academy schools. He said he is a strong advocate for high-quality public education, and named student outcomes and the district's fiscal health as areas needing improvement. Bultman filed as a Democrat, he said, because it aligns with his political philosophy.
District 5
Nicole Carey, Democrat — Carey is the incumbent and current board vice president, on the board since January 2023. Founder and CEO of the research and consulting firm Convergence Global, Carey said she is running so every Indianapolis child has access to a high-quality public education, and to build a financially sustainable district. She said the biggest challenge is a state funding system that leans too heavily on local property taxpayers. Carey filed as a Democrat, she said, because the party's commitment to public education reflects her vision.
Yuri Smith Sr., Democrat — An IPS graduate, Smith runs the nonprofit Y2G Indy and Indy's Inner City Chess Club and currently works with Global Prep Academy. He has worked in education for years, including at Goodwill's Indianapolis Metropolitan High School and the closed Kindezi Academy. Smith said he is running to bring more families and community members "to the table" in district decisions. He filed as a Democrat, he said, because he has been one his whole life.
Pearl Taylor, Democrat — Taylor filed for the District 5 seat as a Democrat. She owns Pearl's Sewtique, a clothing business, according to her candidate filings. WFYI could not immediately reach Taylor for comment.
Contact WFYI Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle
