Indianapolis Public Schools becomes first to share referendum dollars with charter schools

Indianapolis Public Schools will be the first school corporation in Indiana to share referendum funds — raised by a voter-approved property tax hike to support higher teacher salaries, among other initiatives — with charter schools.

The district will begin sharing about $5 million annually with the roughly two dozen charter schools in the district’s innovation network, a combination of existing charter schools that came under the district’s umbrella, charter operators that were brought in to take over an existing IPS school and new charter schools that launched as part of the network.

Superintendent Aleesia Johnson asked the IPS Board of School commissioners to approve the proposal during Thursday evening's board meeting, which they did 5-1. Commissioner Taria Slack was the lone no vote. Commissioner Venita Moore abstained.

"We believe this funding should and will be used to support our entire family of schools," Johnson said.

For months, a group of advocates and parents whose kids attend those schools have lobbied the district to share the funds with all schools within the IPS portfolio. They delivered a series of recommendations they say will make the district more just and equitable and a petition with more than 1,200 signatures.

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“Our community wants what is best for our children because they are our next leaders — the future of our city,” parent Sashah Fletcher told the board Thursday night. “I hope the community support for fairly sharing the operating referendum funds shows IPS leader that parents like me want to support all IPS children, no matter what type of school they attend.”

Fletcher was one of more than a dozen people — parents, grandparents, educators and at least one student — that addressed the board, imploring the district to share funds with the innovation network schools. Several said they helped campaign for the referendum during the 2018 election, but their children haven’t received the fruits of that labor.

Evan Hawkins, president of the IPS board, thanked the parents that pushed the district to take this step.

"Thank you for your courage, your persistence and your challenge," he said before voting in favor of the proposal.

The district will give innovation network charter schools $500 for each student who lives within IPS boundaries, estimated to be about 10,000 students. It’s still a fraction of what the district’s traditional schools receive from the referendum, which is more than $1,500 per students.

Johnson said the district was looking to share the referendum revenues across all IPS schools without putting the district’s financial health at risk. IPS had a consultant do an analysis of funding at each of its schools and found there is a gap between some school types. The sharing of the funds will help shrink that gap.

“What we were trying to strike the balance between is an amount that we believe is meaningful and also the long-term sustainability of the district,” she said.

The referendum generated about $30 million last year. It’s expected to generate around $220 million over eight years. At the same time, voters approved a second referendum to raise $52 million for capital projects at district-owned facilities.

Diane Arnold, member of the IPS board of commissions, said the vote was "a long time in coming" and she was glad the district was "finally here."

"For me, this vote is a vote because I strongly believe the students in our innovation network schools are IPS students," Arnold said, "and I believe they deserve access to the same resources."

When the district advertised the operating referendum ahead of the 2018 election, the bulk of the money raised from it was supposed to go toward teacher pay. IPS has said the sharing will “ensure adults in the IPS family of schools have access to compensation increases.”

Teachers in innovation network schools are not part of the district’s collective bargaining agreement, so have not necessarily received the same raises that other IPS teachers have seen since the passage of the referendum.

While the district is encouraging its charter partners to direct the money to teachers, the referendum dollars going to the charter schools doesn’t actually have strings attached to it.

“There are no specific restrictions but we’re strongly encouraging and recommending dollars to be used to support compensation,” Johnson said.

The move is also a strategic one for IPS, which has tried for years to position itself as Indiana’s most innovative and forward-thinking school district and the one most willing to work with charter schools. That image has played favorably at the Indiana Statehouse, where IPS has lobbied for more flexibility for itself from the state’s “dollar law” that requires public schools allow charter operators to purchase vacant school buildings for $1.

The Legislature added language last year that allows school districts to share referendum dollars with charter schools in their areas. Johnson said the district wants to address concerns of the Legislature and continue to demonstrate its willingness to work with charter schools as it advocates for continued flexibility.

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IPS to share $5 million in referendum dollars with charter schools