Indianapolis Local Education Alliance Meeting - November 19, 2025
Indianapolis Local Education Alliance Meeting - November 19, 2025
The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance (ILEA) convened a comprehensive meeting to review and discuss models generated by three task forces: Transportation, Facilities, and Governance. Mayor Hogsett opened the session by clarifying that the ILEA would not vote on any models during this evening; instead, all proposals would be posted for two weeks of written public comment before the Alliance votes on options in early December. The meeting featured detailed presentations by task force leaders and Mike O'Connor, followed by extensive deliberation from task force members and the broader ILEA regarding the trade-offs between unified systems, independent authorities, and collaborative compacts, with a strong emphasis on equity, stability, and the problem of systemic fragmentation.
Consent Calendar
- No formal consent calendar items were processed; the meeting focused on discussion and deliberation of proposal models.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Support for IPS Control and Elected Boards: Multiple speakers, including William Bowler (Dem. Socialist), Adrian (Invent Learning Hub), Dr. Patricia Payne (63-year educator), and Britt Borham (IPS Parent Council), expressed strong opposition to mayoral appointments and independent authorities. They argued that an elected IPS school board is essential for democratic accountability, community representation, and preventing the fragmentation of public resources. Bowler described private interests in education as a vehicle for theft, while Borham presented a demand letter co-signed by 750 parents urging IPS to remain the sole authorizer and governance body.
- Support for Unified Systems with Independent Authorities: Several speakers, including Dion Miller (child care owner), Kaylin Montgomery (parent), and community advocates, stated that choice is not real without transportation. They expressed support for a separate, unified transportation authority that does not sit under the district or charter networks to ensure neutrality and efficiency, noting that IPS often fails to provide services to all students.
- Arguments for Charter Autonomy and Multi-Authorizer Systems: Representatives from charter schools, including Alyssa Mpink (IPS parent), Tommy Reddicks (Paramount Schools), and Chris Boltman (INDIANA Math & Science Academy), argued against a moratorium on new schools and for the right of charters to choose their authorizers. They emphasized that charter autonomy and diverse authorizing structures (including Education One) have allowed them to innovate and serve students effectively, warning that consolidating authority under IPS could stifle growth.
- Concerns Regarding Stability and Enrollment Caps: Speakers like Janet McNeil (Heron High School) and Catherine Harkoff (parent/nurse) advocated for a pause on opening new schools until the system stabilizes, citing excess capacity and the trauma caused by sudden school closures. Conversely, other parents and charters opposed the moratorium, arguing it limits access to high-quality schools.
- Specific Concerns on Transportation and Facilities: Students from Believe Circle City High School (Javaria Strahorn, Ruth Garcia Hernandez, Ashley King, Leanne Mayors, Joel) shared that lack of reliable transportation prevents participation in extracurriculars and attendance. Parents like Sujata Gate (IPS parent) expressed fear of losing the safety and efficiency of the current IPS transportation system, citing a specific incident where their child was lost on a bus.
Discussion Items
- Transportation Models: The task force presented two primary models: a "Collaborative Compact" (Model 1) where IPS remains the service provider under a fee-for-service agreement with a binding advisory board, and an "Independent Transportation Authority" (Model 2) where property taxes flow to a new authority. Task force member Toby McClamrock strongly favored the Independent Authority to overcome status quo limitations and ensure all public schools participate. Superintendent Dr. Johnson expressed concern that Model 2 lacks an incentive mechanism for participation and argued that the collaborative model allows for stability while leveraging IPS's existing professional staff, which she described as impressive and effective.
- Facilities Models: Four models were discussed, including a Collaborative Compact, an Independent Building Authority, IPS as a Service Provider, and utilization of the existing Indianapolis-Marion County Building Authority. The group emphasized that facilities decisions are inextricably linked to governance and that debt service and the "one dollar rule" (regarding school choice funding) pose significant legal and operational challenges. Bart Peterson and Barato Britt highlighted the complexity of acquiring or managing buildings owned by various entities and the need for a unified system to avoid fragmentation.
- Governance Models: Four models were presented, ranging from minimal change (IPS as sole authorizer with appeals to OEI) to maximal change (Mayor appoints all board members). The discussion centered on the tension between elected vs. appointed boards. Tina Algren and Maggie Lewis noted that while appointed boards can bring expertise, they lack direct accountability to the voters in a large city like Indianapolis. Conversely, Mayor Hogsett noted that partisan politics has already been inserted into school board elections, suggesting appointed boards might offer a way to reintegrate non-partisan experts without the current political polarization.
- Unified Systems and Mandatory Participation: A recurring theme across transportation, facilities, and governance was the necessity of a "unified system" for all public schools (district, innovation, and charter). Task force members and board members debated whether participation should be mandated by statute to ensure all schools contribute to and benefit from the system, with many arguing that optional participation would fail to solve the fragmentation problem.
Key Outcomes
- Next Steps: The ILEA will not vote tonight. All models and notes will be posted on the ILEA portal for written public comment.
- Meeting Schedule:
- December (First Week): The ILEA will meet to select one model for Category (Transportation, Facilities, Governance) after an additional hour of public comment.
- Post-December Selection: The Alliance will hold listening sessions across the city to gather input on the selected options.
- December 17th: A final meeting will be held to hear further public testimony and vote on a set of recommendations to be reported to the Indiana Legislature by the end of December.
- Consensus Elements: There is a broad, though not yet formalized, consensus among the Alliance and Task Forces that the goal is a unified system for all public schools within the IPS boundary to address fragmentation, ensure equity in access (particularly transportation), and create coherent accountability standards.
- Unresolved Issues: The meeting did not reach a consensus on whether to mandate participation or establish an independent authority versus a collaborative compact. The specific mechanism for authorizing charters (single vs. multiple) and the governance structure (elected vs. appointed) remained contentious points of debate with no final decision rendered.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. Welcome everyone. We do have a couple of people that are still trying to get into the public assembly room, so if you would be helpful in helping them find a seat, we'd like to get started because we anticipate the conversation tonight probably going a little bit longer than is normal for our alliance meetings. Good evening to everyone. I'm hereby calling to order the November meeting of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance. I will remind everyone that we have held public meetings in June, in July, in August, in September, in October, and now in November. And in each meeting, we have taken public comment. Tonight we will begin the process of hearing from our previously announced task forces. You will hear and see information about what they considered, and in each case, multiple models for consideration and discussion. It is important to note that the ILEA will not be taking any votes this evening. We will discuss models, options, upsides, downsides, and then leave the models and notes on the ILEA portal for the next two weeks to engender even further written public comment about those models and notes. Just as a reminder, our transportation force, task force, that is, was made up of ILEA members Tina Algren, Maggie Lewis, Toby McClamrock, and Andrew Neal. Our facilities task force was made up of ILEA members Barato Britt, Angela Smith Jones, and Bart Peterson. One of the consistent themes you will hear as our task forces report out was the many that many questions lead each task force to a broader question of overall governance. And while the statute that created the ILEA listed governance as an option to consider, it became clear that we did need to work on that issue. With regard to governance, Dr. Johnson and I have served technically as the task force. Tonight, our work will be presented out in the same format as the other task forces. We will have multiple models presented that provide a wide range of options. We will discuss these among the ILEA members, but we will not take any votes tonight. Those models will be up for public comment for the same period of time as all of the others. Should not indicate that John Dr. Johnson nor I favor any particular model. As I've said, these are models that represent a wide spectrum for discussion only. As we move through our meeting tonight, we because we got started about 30 minutes later than originally planned. Out of respect for our ILEA members and all members of the public in attendance. We anticipate having a full hour of public comment, but tonight will not be the public's only opportunity. As we move forward and prior to voting on individual models, we will allow for another full hour of public comment once the ILEA chooses options. We will make sure that these are opportunities for further comment as we move to final recommendations to the legislature. So prior to getting started, I want to thank the ILEA members for their hard work on our task forces, and a thanks to all of you to the extent that you participated in the discussion surrounding previously the topics that we have addressed over the course of this alliance existence. Multiple meetings were held for long hours and at various times of the day to accommodate differing work schedules. And I deeply appreciate the work that has been done. So Mike, with that, let's get started. Thank you, Mayor. I want to reiterate I said earlier that the uh there's a room across the hall that is broadcasting also. It's room 221. And Mayor, if I might, of a point of personal privilege before I get into presentations, touch again on some process points that you made. As you indicated, it's not going to not be the only or last time for people to make public comment on what we will all see. We don't have a definite date set yet, but in the first week of December, the ILEA will meet to vote on one of the models from each of the categories of transportation, facilities, and governance. We will, as the mayor mentioned, put all this information up on the ILEA website and take public written comment right up until that next meeting date. Then at that meeting, the ILEA will take another hour of public comment prior to voting on what options to roll out for additional public comment process. And as I said, that meeting will take place during the first week of December. We will then combine those models with further information and elements of what we discuss and hold a couple of listening sessions around the city for input on those models. After those public input sessions, we will convene again on December 17th, right here in this room, and take additional public comment and then vote on a set of recommendations that the ILEA will report out to the legislature by the end of December. So at the close of this meeting at 9 30 tonight, you will have more opportunities to be heard. Now, as we get started, the the there has been some discussion externally about realigning the district boundaries. So moving to the transportation task force. This group developed a little more preliminary information before we move to modeling because the group really wanted to get a better understanding of scope of service and service and cost differentiations. A few of the task force members were able to take a tour and write along with IPS earlier this fall. On this model, you'll see currently today IPS serves their student enrollment is around 30,000.
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