Hogsett, IPS names members of group shaping the future of the district. Who they picked
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson have announced the nine members who will help design major changes to how the district will work with charter schools in the future.
The announcement was dropped at 4 p.m. on the Friday before the city prepares for the Indianapolis 500 and the Memorial Day holiday.
This group, known as the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance (ILEA), was created out of legislation passed this year under House Bill 1515. Hogsett and Johnson were responsible for appointing the group members, along with the IPS school board president.
The group could make consequential decisions on how the district uses its buildings and transportation going forward, a topic that has generated intense debate from parents on both sides of the argument on whether the district should expand its collaboration with local charter schools.
Hogsett said that the goal of this alliance is to "deepen collaboration across traditional public and public charter schools and support a strong academic experience for all students."
'These accomplished civic leaders are ready to chart a course for the future of education within the IPS boundary,' said Mayor Hogsett. 'I am proud to lead them as we embark on this critical work, and I am confident we will create a plan that ensures a stable, sustainable and collaborative path forward for our schools.'
The members of the new alliance include:
Mayor Joe Hogsett - Chairperson
Dr. Aleesia Johnson - Superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schools
Bart Peterson - Former mayor; former CEO of Christel House International; former senior vice president of corporate affairs and communication for Eli Lilly and Company (mayoral appointee)
Maggie Lewis - Majority leader of the Indianapolis City-County Council; CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis (mayoral appointee)
Angela Smith-Jones - Associate vice president for state relations at Indiana University; former deputy mayor of economic development; former general counsel for the Indy Chamber (mayoral appointee)
Tobin McClamroch - Managing partner of Dentons Bingham Greenebaum; chair of the Marian University Board of Trustees, (mayoral appointee)
Barato Britt - President/CEO of Edna Martin Christian Center (IPS Board President appointee)
Tina Ahlgren - Teacher at H.L. Harshman Middle School; Hoosier Educator of the Year, 2024; IPS Teacher of the Year, 2014 (IPS district-managed school parent appointee)
Andrew Neal - CEO of Outreach Indiana; former chief operating officer of Brookside Community Development Corporation (IPS innovation school parent appointee)
The first meeting of the alliance must be held before July 1, 2025.
Information about future meetings will be shared in the coming weeks, according to the press release from Hogsett's office.
The group will work to conduct a facility assessment on all the schools within IPS's boundaries, including traditional and charter campuses.
It will then make recommendations regarding school facility 'structural changes,' as well as come up with a process for approving or denying future capital referendum requests.
It will also create a template for revenue-sharing agreements between IPS and its charter school partners.
The ILEA must also create methods on how the district can increase collaboration with governmental entities, community organizations or local nonprofits on how to transform school facilities into 'broader community assets for residents.'
The group is meant to create a transportation implementation plan that would consider how to best serve all the district's students, in charter and district-run schools.
More on this SB 1515: This group will guide IPS's future. Hogsett asked lawmakers to make its meetings private
During the legislature's last remaining hours of session, lawmakers added language to the bill that allows the ILEA to be exempt from Indiana's Open Door Law, a policy which gives members of the public the right to attend meetings of governing bodies or public agencies.
The bill's author, Rep. Bill Behning, R-Indianapolis, said that language was included at the request of Mayor Joe Hogsett, and that the group can decide for themselves if it wants the meetings open to the public.
The ILEA's final meeting, where the members will vote on a final proposal, is required to be a public meeting.
The alliance is required to file its final report and recommendations by Dec. 31, 2025.
Contact IndyStar K-12 education reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter (X): @CarolineB_Indy.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hogsett, IPS names members of group shaping the future of the district
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