Lawmakers give IPS path to avoid dissolution
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Indianapolis Public Schools may be able to avoid state lawmakers dissolving it — if the district is willing to share local property tax dollars with area charter schools.
State of play: Lawmakers have insinuated that compromise is what it would take to shut down House Bill 1136, legislation that would dissolve IPS and four other districts in which more than half of students who live in the districts attend charter schools.
- One of the bill's co-authors, Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, the chair of the powerful House Ways and Means committee, told Axios it was "fair" to say the bill was an effort to encourage IPS to share more property tax dollars — something the district has opposed.
House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, shared a similar sentiment with reporters Wednesday.
- "My biggest issue is that the district shares … local property tax dollars to support these students," he said. "If you're student-centered, you want to make sure that the public charter schools that are in your district, in which the majority of the kids in the district go, would receive some local property tax money to support their operations and their transportation."
Yes, but: It wasn't long ago that IPS was being applauded for working with charter schools, partnering with them through their Innovation Network and allowing charter operators to take over management of some of the district's existing schools.
- Now, it seems that the Indiana General Assembly may use that partnership to force the district's hand to share property tax dollars beyond what it has already agreed to share with Innovation Network charters.
The fine print: HB 1136 would dissolve a school district in which more than half of students who live in its boundaries attend a school not operated by the district.
- All of the district's existing schools would be transitioned to operating as charter schools by July 1, 2028.
- Rather than a publicly elected school board, a new governing body would be created, with four members appointed by the governor, one by the mayor, one by the local council president and one by the executive director of the Indiana charter school board.
- Four other districts — Gary, Union, Tri-Township and Cannelton City — would also be dissolved under the bill.
The other side: IPS issued a statement opposing HB 1136 "or any bill this legislative session that threatens local authority and community control of public schools."
- "This harmful legislation would strip communities of their voice, destabilize our financial foundations and further jeopardize the education of approximately 42,000 students," the district said.
What they're saying: Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, criticized her colleagues' strategy of filing the bill to force IPS' hand. Hunley is a former IPS principal.
- "Sending entire communities into a panic is not a way to come to the negotiating table," she said. "My own child came home from high school … worried about whether or not her school would exist next year."
- "That's not how we do legislation," she said.
Flashback: Charter schools have been fighting for a share of property taxes for at least a decade.
- In place of those funds, the state provides a per-student grant that increased to $1,400.
- Last year, charters also scored a win on the property tax front with a bill that requires public school districts in four counties — Marion, Lake, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh — to share a portion of new revenue from rising property values based on the number of local students who attend.
- A separate bill also requires public schools to share with charter schools referendum dollars that help with the cost of running the referendum.
The latest: A new advocacy group launched last year with the goal of securing property tax dollars for charter schools statewide.