Indy Chamber comes out against proposed IPS referendum one day ahead of vote

One day before the Indianapolis Public Schools board is expected to vote on a $413 million operating referendum, the Indy Chamber Friday released a statement saying that it does not support the proposal.

The influential business group listed multiple questions and concerns that it would like the district to address before the group will support the referendum.

The IPS board is expected to vote on the measure at their winter board retreat meeting Saturday. If the board approves the proposed referendum, it will go on the May primary ballot.

But the Indy Chamber said that district officials should hold off and do more research before asking voters to decide.

“We believe that more time and engagement are required to allow the community to fully vet the current proposal, build support for a path forward, and work with state lawmakers to address inequities in the school funding formula that disadvantage IPS and many other schools across the state,” the Chamber said. “The Indy Chamber looks forward to assisting district leaders in this work and remains committed to the success of IPS and its students.”

The chamber's concerns centered around five main issues.

The chamber wants to see how IPS plans to address concerns over lagging student achievement, optimally utilize IPS facilities, and leverage surplus revenue from existing referendum funds. In addition, the chamber said the board needs to explain how the tax increase would affect cash-strapped families during record-high inflation rates.

Charter schools and IPS dollars:Indy charter schools call on IPS to share possible referendum dollars

The chamber also asked why the district does not plan to share referendum dollars equally with its innovation charter schools, a sticking point that has garnered the attention of education groups and charter school leaders in the city in recent months.

There are more students living within IPS’s boundaries going to non-district-run public schools in the district than there are going to an IPS directly-managed school, according to state transfer data.

Given that, the chamber asks how the district’s referendum plan would impact students at non-district-managed public schools, which would include the majority of Black students in IPS and nearly half of Latino students.

IPS recently said it would increase the amount of referendum dollars it would share with its innovation schools by $3 to $4 million compared to what was proposed last month. IPS has said it doesn’t share the dollars equally because it also spends $19 million annually in additional support across its 22 innovation schools.

More on controversial IPS referendum: IPS proposes sending more referendum dollars to innovation charter schools

But some charter school supporters remain unsatisfied because they want to see referendum dollars shared equally with all public schools within the IPS district, including non-innovation charter schools.

A comment from IPS wasn’t immediately available Friday.

The chamber's concern is just the latest blow to IPS in its effort to pass the referendum after Indiana House Republicans said earlier this week that they were mulling legislation to delay school referendum votes to be taken during fall elections instead of May primary elections, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.

This isn’t the first time the Indy Chamber has come out against an IPS referendum proposal.

In 2018 the district and the chamber were at odds over a proposed operating referendum amount. The two eventually came to an agreement but not until after the proposal was severely reduced from the initial IPS proposal.

Not having the chamber's support could pose a significant challenge to passing the referendum. The chamber provided financial assistance for a marketing campaign to pass the 2018 referendum along with other groups like Stand for Children Indiana who has also come out against the new proposed referendum.

The chamber did not say in its press release Friday if there was a certain amount by which it would like to see the referendum reduced.

More on IPS 2023 referendums:IPS Board approves $410 million capital referendum, delays operating referendum vote

IPS has already approved a $410 million capital referendum that has a rate of $0.2066 per $100 of assessed value. The proposed operating referendum tax rate would be $0.25 per every $100 of assessed value, bringing the total increase in property taxes to around $823.6 million for IPS voters.

The IPS school board only has until February 17 to approve the operating referendum resolution for it to appear on the May ballot.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world.

Report for America, funded by both private and public donors, covers up to 50% of a reporter's salary. It’s up to IndyStar to find the other half, through local community donors, benefactors, grants or other fundraising activities.

If you would like to make a personal, tax-deductible contribution to her position, you can make a one-time donation online or a recurring monthly donation via IndyStar.com/RFA.

You can also donate by check, payable to “The GroundTruth Project.” Send it to Report for America IndyStar Campaign, c/o The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon, 97008-7105. Please put IndyStar/Report for America in the check memo line.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy Chamber comes out against proposed IPS referendum