IPS superintendent seeks tax increase to fund school reorganization plan
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The Indianapolis Public Schools board Thursday night considered a tax increase to fund its Rebuilding Stronger plan, which would close or merge several schools and reconfigure the grades served by more than three dozen others.
Superintendent Aleesia Johnson presented a plan at the Board of School Commissioners meeting to put two referendums on the May 2023 ballot that would generate $410 million in capital funding and $50 million in annual operating funding for eight years.
The board was not expected to vote on the proposal Thursday.
Johnson said if the referendums pass, the median homeowner in the IPS district would see a property tax increase of $6 per month. Property tax increases approved by voters in a referendum are not subject to the state’s property tax caps, according to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Johnson said the funding will support facilities renovations throughout the district.
“Approximately one-third of our buildings are currently rated as being in poor condition, and so we want to ensure that we are addressing our facilities, that they reflect the values that we have for our students,” Johnson said. “If you drive 30 minutes in any direction from the center of our district, you can see pretty stark differences in the kinds of physical environments that students have access to.”
Johnson says the $50 million per year operating funds will support expanded student offerings created through the Rebuilding Stronger plan, as well as teachers.
“Right now, our first-year teachers start at $50,000 a year this year, one of the highest rates across our state. We want to continue to be competitive because we know with great teachers comes a great experience for our students. And certainly, we know that we want the value that our teachers bring to our district to be reflected in how they are compensated.”
Johnson unveiled the draft version of the Rebuilding Stronger plan during her State of the District address last month.
The ballot referendum for operating expenses would increase the tax rate from 19 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 25 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
The capital referendum would request roughly 16 cents per $100 of assessed value to cover debt for facilities. However, district officials said that they will soon finish paying off previous debt for capital projects, a move that would lower the overall tax rate and effectively cancel out that 16-cent increase.
As part of the plan, six schools will close at the end of the current academic year, three of which will merge into existing schools.
Additionally, the district is proposing to reconfigure K-6, K-8 and 7-8 schools into K-5 and 6-8 schools. Some previously closed schools are also set to reopen under a reconfiguration, including Broad Ripple Middle School, which will operate in the old Broad Ripple High School building.
One school, the Center for Inquiry at School 2, was originally set to merge with another school. However, IPS officials updated the plan, which would keep CFI School 2 open, though it will still convert from K-8 to K-5.
IPS says the changes would go into effect in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Johnson says the plan aims to improve equity and increase access for more students.
“We were able to show in the data that there were existing disparities between experiences and classes that some students had access to at some schools that other students didn’t at other schools. There were differences in the level of mobility that some of our schools experience. So, this idea of having a plan that will address those things that will allow more students to have access to more opportunity has definitely been something that people have been very excited about.”
However, she says she understands the concerns some parents have shown over the closure of schools and the changes it will bring for students.
“We’ve certainly heard from our community, you know, sadness about those things. When we’re proposing to significantly shift what they experience today, while there is excitement about what could be, it’s not without some grief or some warning because of the change that’s going to be necessary, we believe, to get there.”
The IPS Board is expected to vote on the Rebuilding Stronger plan next month. You can read more about the plan by clicking here.
Chalkbeat Indiana contributed to this report.