Indianapolis Public Schools board seeks applicant for vacant District 2 seat

Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.

The Indianapolis Public Schools board is accepting applications for people interested in filling the vacant role of District 2 commissioner on the IPS school board.

The effort to fill the vacant seat follows the resignation of Gayle Cosby, who said this week that she would step down on Friday due to ongoing health concerns.

The board said on Friday that it is accepting applications, which are available online, until 5 p.m. on March 20.

The appointee selected by the IPS board will serve in the seat until the next election on Nov. 3, when state law dictates voters must choose a new District 2 commissioner to serve until the term ends in 2028.

Three other seats will also be up for election in November: Hope Duke Star’s District 3 seat, Nicole Carey’s District 5 seat, and the at-large seat currently held by Angelia Moore. Those terms will end in 2030.

The election will be the first since lawmakers passed a law to allow partisan school board elections and since the creation of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation.

The corporation will oversee buildings and transportation for district and charter schools while also assuming the power to collect property taxes — changes that significantly diminish the elected school board’s power. The IPS board, however, would still retain the power to hire and fire the superintendent and oversee other day-to-day policy decisions, such as selecting curriculum or crafting its own budget.

Candidates for the appointed seat must have lived in District 2 — which encompasses parts of the Near Eastside and the Far Eastside — for at least one year, the district said in an announcement. They must also not have any felony convictions unless those convictions were pardoned, reversed, vacated, or set aside.

The board will select three finalists in a closed-door session on March 23 and will interview finalists in a public session at 6 p.m. on March 24.

The board will vote on the appointee on March 26.

Interested applicants can contact board administrator Leslie-Ann James with questions at boardofcommissioners@myips.org or 317-226-2056.

Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.