Superintendent: IPS would close 20 schools, cut jobs
Indianapolis Public Schools is facing school closures and job cuts if state lawmakers pass proposals to cut property taxes and force revenue sharing with charter schools.
Why it matters: The district would face $40 million in losses next year and $80 million by 2028, forcing IPS to close at least 20 schools and cut hundreds of jobs, if two bills passed by a Senate committee on Tuesday become law, superintendent Aleesia Johnson said.
Zoom in: Senate Bill 1 would reform the state's property tax system, cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from public school budgets statewide.
Senate Bill 518 would require school districts to share revenue received from property tax referendums, measures approved by voters to raise taxes above statutory caps, with charter schools.
What they're saying:"The dollars will continue to be more and more splintered until every school gets something but no school gets enough to actually provide a high quality service to students," Johnson said.
State of play: Lawmakers have been pushing for referendum sharing between traditional public schools and public charter schools for several years.
Districts have resisted over concerns about lost revenue and accountability for how those dollars get spent. Unlike traditional districts, charter schools don't have publicly elected boards that answer to voters who pass the referendums.
Reality check: IPS agreed in 2021 to start sharing some referendum dollars with the two dozen charter schools it partners with through its innovation network. Those schools would be hurt as well and charter school partnerships may need to be reevaluated if the bills pass in the current form, Johnson said.
By the numbers: Approximately 42,000 public school students live within the IPS attendance boundaries, per Johnson.
Roughly 31,000 attend a school within the IPS network — either directly run by the district or one of its innovation network schools.
Johnson said that 28,000 of those students are supported by referendum dollars — either through transportation services, buildings or technology.
With the cuts to revenue from SB 1 and the sharing required by SB 518, "there simply would not be enough to go around," Johnson said.
The other side: Charter school advocates say the disparity is unfair and all public schools should be treated and funded equally.
"Families who choose charter schools still pay the same property taxes," said Kim Reier, vice president of strategy at the Indiana Charter Innovation Center. "Yet those dollars remain locked in the districts that they no longer attend."
What's next: The bills head to the full Senate in the coming days for consideration where it's likely they will pass along party lines, as they did in committee.
With a supermajority, Republican-backed initiatives don't need Democratic support.
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