Indianapolis Public Schools planning budget cuts
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Indianapolis Public Schools is bracing for a difficult financial future.
Why it matters: The city's largest district appears to be facing another difficult period, which could threaten efforts to stabilize decreasing enrollment.
Driving the news: IPS is cutting $7 million from school budgets next year and weighing additional cuts to address a projected $40+ million funding gap that could drain its reserves within a year.
- "We do anticipate the extent of needed reductions to represent a new challenge," Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said in a recent video.
Between the lines: These significant spending cuts are what's necessary based on the assumption that voters pass a new operating referendum to replace the current property tax hike, which is set to expire later this year.
- Johnson confirmed IPS will pursue another operating referendum this fall.
Yes, but: It's not a decision IPS can make alone anymore.
- Starting this summer, the newly created Indianapolis Public Education Corporation will have authority over school budgets, property taxes and referendums.
- Mayor Joe Hogsett must appoint IPEC's nine members by the end of the month, and they will ultimately decide whether to put a referendum on the November ballot.
- Threat level: The current operating referendum brings in about $40 million annually, much of which has been used to increase teacher salaries.
State of play: The budget gap is a product of several factors, Johnson said, including declining enrollment and changes to state school funding policies — like property tax cuts and a new mandate to share those dollars with charter schools.
What we're watching: Whether further upheaval will exacerbate financial problems by quickening enrollment declines.
- Enrollment had largely leveled out after a pandemic-era drop but fell again this current school year.
- The district made major changes at the elementary and middle school levels during the Rebuilding Stronger initiative, closing several schools and shifting grade configurations.
- The hope was that the short-term pain would be offset by long-term gains in stability and predictability for families, but it's likely the district is facing further school closures.
