Indianapolis Public Schools and charter schools are asking voters to approve a property tax increase in the November election to generate $95 million for operating expenses over the next four years.
The ballot question is an unprecedented one for Indianapolis, where charter leaders and education reform groups have pushed for charter schools to receive a proportionate share of property tax funding.
If approved, the extra funding would be split roughly evenly between IPS and charters based on student enrollment, which last school year reflected about 40% of students living within the district attending charter schools and 37% attending district schools. IPS would receive $46.4 million and charters would receive about $48.6 million.
The referendum comes at a transitional time for both IPS and the roughly 60 charter schools within its borders, which will both be overseen by the newly created Indianapolis Public Education Corporation. The nine-member, mayor-appointed board — created by state law earlier this year — will control buildings and transportation for IPS and charter schools in 2028.
The tax increase is a historic one for charter schools, and would serve as a critical lifeline for the district.
For the most part, charter schools have not received the property tax revenue that is a core funding source for public school districts. Instead they rely on state, federal and philanthropic money.
But a 2025 law requires school districts share referendum revenue with eligible charter schools.
Charter schools are tuition-free public schools managed privately by nonprofit boards instead of elected officials. These boards operate under contracts granted by one of several authorizers in the state.
Recent state property tax reforms, combined with existing property tax caps, leave districts like IPS facing deficits as traditional schools realize less funding.
Even without passage of the referendum, IPS must cut $20 million from its budget for the 2027-28 school year. Closing schools is likely one solution, according to Superintendent Aleesia Johnson.
If the referendum fails, the district estimates needing to make $40 to $45 million in cuts.
How much would the referendum cost?
Voters who live within the Indianapolis Public Schools district boundaries will see the question on their ballot this November.
The ballot states the referendum would generate an extra 37.2 cents for every $100 of a property's assessed value, or $221 in property taxes for a median household value of $150,000.
But the real increase to a homeowner's existing property tax bill is less.
The referendum would replace an existing tax increase that voters in IPS approved in 2018, rather than adding to it. Yet the state-mandated ballot language does not take existing referendums into account.
As a result, the district estimates an annual increase of roughly $105 for a $150,000 home, according to the district's online tax liability calculator.
What would the referendum fund?
An estimated $32.3 million would fund staff pay and professional development across IPS and charter schools.
Another $62.7 million would fund academic programs and instruction, including support for special education students and English language learners.
Indianapolis Public Schools for years struggled with teacher salaries, which were frozen from 2010 to 2014. In 2015 the district once again began offering annual raises by tapping into district reserves. In 2018, a $220 million operating referendum also boosted teacher pay, increasing salaries by an average of 9% the following year, according to the district.
Last school year the district had the highest starting teacher salary in Marion County. Teacher retention rates have ranged from 82% to 89% over the past five years, according to the district.
The district has also stressed the need for more funding for English language learners and students with disabilities — student groups that make up roughly 33% and 17% of the district, according to IPS.
There is an approximately $30 million funding gap between what the district receives in state and federal funding to support those students and what it actually costs, according to the district.
Which charter schools would receive referendum funding?
Charter schools that enroll students living within IPS boundaries and do not serve adult or virtual students are eligible to receive money from this referendum. Charters that opted to receive referendum funding are listed at the bottom of this article.
What happens if voters reject the referendum?
Johnson has said the state could intervene in how IPS operates if the referendum fails.
State law empowers an entity known as the Distressed Unit Appeals Board to take over school districts in dire financial need. The state treasurer or a school district's superintendent or governing body can file a petition to designate a school district as a distressed unit, which would trigger the DUAB to appoint an emergency manager to control the district.
"What's most at stake is likely state intervention of some additional kind, and decisions getting made at the Statehouse," Johnson said. "And that continued intervention from folks who are not from our community or of our community is really concerning to me."
While Indiana ended the state takeover of academically failing schools in 2021, it will issue letter grades in the fall that could serve as a new basis for school accountability.
Who supports and opposes this referendum?
The referendum has garnered critical support from groups that previously objected to the district's 2023 attempt to pass an operating referendum without sharing proportionally with charter schools. These include the Indy Chamber and education nonprofits Rise Indy and Stand for Children Indiana.
The political action committee formed to pass the referendum has so far received nearly all of its funding from Stand for Children Indiana, which contributed $100,000 of the roughly $107,000 in contributions so far, according to a pre-election campaign finance report.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also supports the referendum, along with the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Indianapolis.
The conservative group Americans for Prosperity group launched a digital ad campaign across the state to urge voters to vote 'No' on school property tax referendums this November.
"Right now, Hoosiers are facing extraordinary increases in cost of living, just like all Americans," said Cody White, Indiana state director for the AFP. "I think now is definitely not the time to be raising Hoosiers' taxes."
The election is Nov. 3. Early voting is underway until Nov. 2.
Contact WFYI Education Reporter Amelia Pak-Harvey at apak-harvey@wfyi.org
