Despite initial delays, IPS plans to implement Rebuilding Stronger as scheduled
Despite initial delays and pushbacks from major Indianapolis groups, the Indianapolis Public Schools district said on Thursday they are moving forward with the full implementation of the Rebuilding Stronger plan.
In a video message released Thursday afternoon, IPS superintendent Aleesia Johnson said that she does not want IPS students to wait any longer for access to more equitable offerings promised under the Rebuilding Stronger plan.
The fate of the plan was put into question earlier this year when the board delayed voting on a new operating referendum amidst pushback from the Indy Chamber and charter school support groups.Thursday Johnson said she would not let the lack of an operating referendum decision stand in the way of moving forward.
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“I refuse to ask any student to wait any longer than necessary for algebra 1 or computer science or art or music,” she said. “I refuse to keep sending students to schools in buildings that are so overdue for upgrades. And I refuse to lose the genius and talent of any more of our students to neighboring districts or schools while we wait to make ours excellent.”
The Rebuilding Stronger plan aims to restructure how the district uses its resources to provide access to programs like music, art, Algebra 1 and world language and to increase access to the district’s high-demand schools.
Under the plan, four schools – Floro Torrence School 83, Raymond Brandes School 65, George Buck School 94, and Francis Bellamy School 102 – will close at the end of this school year, district officials said.
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In a news release, the district explained that to fund the programmatic changes called for in the plan the district will look at steps like eliminating unnecessary contracts and dealing with transportation costs efficiently, Johnson told reporters after Thursday’s school board meeting.
Fully funding the academic investments of the Rebuilding Stronger Plan will cost roughly $9 million, Johnson said.
Since IPS’s current operating referendum expires in 2026, Johnson said the district will have to address the question of future funding sometime before that.
“My goal in proposing the operating referendum now was to be proactive, to not wait until we drove right up to the edge of the cliff to get that done,” Johnson said. “I thought it was better to come to the community at one time with both immediate needs we faced — the capital referendum and operating referendum — to be transparent about our needs.”
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How much funding the district needs in the future will also depend on the legislature’s biennium budget. District officials have voiced concern that if the current House Republican budget passes as it stands now, the district could see big losses down the road.
Now the district will focus on getting its $410 million capital referendum approved during the May primary election.
Innovation School Developments
Also during Thursday’s meeting, the board approved unanimously the new innovation contract for the Near Eastside Innovation School Corporation to take over Washington Irving School 14, replacing the Urban Act Academy contract currently running the school.
The board also finalized the termination of the innovation contract that would have replicated Edison School of the Arts program at the James Whitcomb Riley School 43.
The district said it will announce a new plan for the school moving forward in the coming weeks.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IPS announces Rebuilding Stronger plan will happen as scheduled
