The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, named six finalists on Thursday for its executive director job, a role that will oversee transportation, building decisions and academic accountability for Indianapolis Public Schools and most of the city’s charter schools.
The candidate pool includes a sitting IPEC board member, a former chair of the state's charter school authorizing board, two senior Indianapolis Public Schools administrators, a former state lawmaker and utility regulator, and a former mayoral education policy director.
The announcement comes as IPEC, the mayor-appointed board that took over key financial powers from the elected IPS board this year, asks voters in November to approve an annual $95 million property tax increase for four years, a measure the board says still won't close a budget gap at IPS. The money will be distributed to the district and 60 charter schools based on student enrollment.
The executive director will run the day-to-day operations of IPEC, develop long-term plans for the corporation, and manage its budget, staff and vendors. They will also oversee major changes for the city’s education sectors, including a unified transportation system, potential school closures and the creation of a new accountability model.
The annual salary range for the position is between $235,000 and $325,000, according to its job description. The position reports to the IPEC board.
Acting director Michael O’Connor said 36 applications were submitted for the job.
“So I think 36 applications was a pretty vibrant list of interested folks,” he told WFYI.
The six executive director candidate finalists will interview with Mayor Joe Hogsett, who will select his pick for the job. Under the 2026 law that created IPEC, the board must then approve the mayor's choice.
The finalists are:
Carolene Mays — Mays has a decades-long career bridging political, corporate and community sectors. She served three terms in the Indiana House of Representatives through 2008. She’s been appointed to multiple state positions, including as commissioner for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. She’s the former executive director of the White River State Park Development Commission and currently hosts a regular segment on WISH-TV.
Patrick McAlister — McAlister was the director of the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation for more than six years, overseeing the city’s charter schools. He was also policy director for the Indiana Department of Education and Teach Plus. He works as a strategist advising charter schools and government agencies and promotes policy proposals for communities to fund early education access.
Zach Mulholland — Mulholland has been the executive director of operations for Indianapolis Public Schools since mid-2020. He led a collaboration between IPS and IndyGo for some students to use the public bus system instead of traditional yellow buses, as the district attempted to cut transportation expenses. Before that, Mulholland managed the operations for the IPS school board for six years, including the development of board policy.
Karega Rausch — Rausch was the education and charter schools director for former Indianapolis Mayors Bart Peterson and Greg Ballard before being the director of the local affiliate of school reform organization Stand for Children. Rausch also chaired the Indiana Charter Schools Board. He joined the National Association of Charter School Authorizers in 2014 and has been the president and CEO since 2020.
Andrew Strope — Strope has been the deputy superintendent at Indianapolis Public Schools since late 2022, after holding other top roles, including chief of staff. Strope was part of leadership as the district consolidated and closed schools in an effort to manage shrinking enrollment. He also serves on the boards of Teach For America Indianapolis and Enroll Indy, the unified enrollment organization for IPS and many city charter schools.
Deandra Thompson — Thompson is vice chair of the IPEC board, and an at-large member of the IPS school board. She is founder of A Learning Bee Academy, an early learning center. She previously served as national director of enrollment for the Phalen Leadership Academies charter school network and was on the founding leadership team of the local private Catholic school Providence Cristo Rey High School.
The IPEC board meets at 4 p.m. July 22 in the City-County Building, room 260.
Government reporter Caroline Beck contributed to this story.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.
