If you have kids – Do they attend or have they graduated from IPS schools? If not, where do/did they attend?

I do not have children.

What prompted you to run this year?

I am running this year because families deserve world-class educational offerings and I want to guide and protect IPS as an important part of school choice in Indianapolis. My priorities as an IPS Commissioner are to ensure IPS is financially healthy, has strong student enrollment, and continues to improve student outcomes. I believe that properly funding public education is critical. This year’s referendum ballot question is actually more important than any one commissioner’s race and has huge implications for how schools are able to support student outcomes. Another reason I am running this year is my belief that investing in early childhood education can help our tiniest learners achieve some of the biggest successes in all of PreK-12 education. The transformative power of literacy is the foundation of all other learning. I have chosen to run for school board to advocate for our special education students, our English language learners, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and our immigrant families – all of whom deserve support that makes them feel safe, valued, and included. I also want to advocate for rigorous high school instruction and opportunities that help students determine if enrollment, employment, or enlistment aligns best for their future. And our freshmen students deserve extra support to help them start strong. I am also running to support teachers. Helping instructional staff develop their ability to deliver exceptional classroom instruction must be a central focus and partnering with teachers to seek their input and voice is critical.

What is the most pressing student needs issue facing the district? How will you address it?

When you think about it, all student needs issues map directly back to funding. Ensuring that voters have all the information they need regarding the referendum question on the ballot this year is critical. I encourage voters to visit https://www.myips.org/2026-referendum now to get educated about the impact of the referendum on public education in Indianapolis and how it will impact taxpayers. Ultimately it’s up to the education sector to illustrate return on investment to taxpayers. Speaking as a taxpayer, I cannot think of a more important item to fund than public education. Public education is foundational to a well functioning society. In order for Indianapolis to be a competitive destination for talent, investment, and to boost quality of life we must keep education funding a central focus. Besides the referendum, IPS will still need to make some difficult decisions regarding its operating budget. I am eager to partner closely with Dr. Johnson, her skilled team, and the community to discuss what measures create the healthiest budget conditions while keeping disruptions to the student experience to an absolute minimum.

What area of academics do you think the district needs to focus on and why?

Literacy is the foundation of all other learning. Making sure that our students start strong in PreK-3rd grade is of particular importance. Boosting our proficiency rates in IREAD and ILEARN is something that I’m focused on. Of course there is so much more to learning than merely “teaching to the test”, but there is no way around it – test scores matter and we must stay laser focused on boosting our proficiency rates.

As Indianapolis education begins this new phase with the addition of IPEC, how should the board approach its relationship with IPEC?

The creation of IPEC signals the dawning of an even deeper collaboration between public education sectors within Indianapolis. There is great potential for improved student outcomes, but it will take communication, collaboration, and active listening from all parties involved to drive those outcomes. I am encouraged by the addition of former Deputy Superintendent of IPS, Andrew Strope to serve as the Executive Vice President of IPEC. Bringing a strong district talent and someone with the vast institutional knowledge that Andrew brings to the table will help inform the work of IPEC. Furthermore, I want to recognize that Commissioner Star, Commissioner Thomas, and Commissioner Thompson help to lift up the voice of the district through their work on the IPEC board. Personally, I think the two areas that have the most potential to improve student outcomes are collaborative work in transportation and a shared accountability framework.

Do you support the IPEC referendum and the rate? Why or why not?

Yes, I support the referendum and will be working hard within my capacity as an IPS Commissioner and as a taxpayer to educate voters about the importance and impacts of the referendum. In my opinion, the referendum rate of 37.2 is too little to properly fund public education within the boundary, but at this point we are not going to change the rate. IPS will still need to make cuts even with a successful passage of the referendum. As a starting point, we really need the passage of the referendum, but will need to keep pushing to adjust the budget elsewhere.

IPS recently made budget cuts and will need to make more cuts even if the referendum passes. What will be your approach to budget cut decisions? Are there other ways IPS can bring in money beyond the referendum?

Enrollment, facilities, and having conversations with our innovation partners. Regarding enrollment, a train is a useful metaphor. Enrollment is the engine of the train. The rest of the train matters, of course, but the engine takes the train to its destination. We can never arrive at our destination of being financially sound without strong enrollment. Facilities offer another area of cost savings. I am so encouraged that the $1 Law will no longer be such a high barrier to IPS navigating its facility sales. The time has arrived that IPS can realize fair market price when selling facilities – and, I am encouraged that community voice is being actively sought after regarding facility sales. This revenue will be helpful in IPS’s next chapter. I also think that it’s time to have conversations with innovation partners to optimize relationships and agreements. Each facility has such a custom arrangement that it is hard to make sweeping generalizations or comments about innovation partners. At a high level, there are likely some win-win conversations to be had here. Finally, public educators and leaders in Indianapolis need to join together to advocate for more state funding for special education and ELL from the state.

How will you engage with the community if elected? What role will their feedback have in your decision making?

Community engagement is one of my favorite parts of working in education! I love connecting with students to hear about their experience. Hearing families’ perspectives helps to inform me about important issues in District 4 and beyond. Also, Indy has incredible community partners who are education champions and walk alongside schools to support kids – working with them is a pleasure. I have already attended several back to school events as of this writing (August 10, 2026). So, I’ve already begun to engage the community and help move initiatives. I’m excited to do more and I welcome District 4 families and all IPS stakeholders to reach out to me with invitations to partner – my district email is BultmanChris@myips.org.

Outside money to fund campaigns has been a huge factor in previous IPS school board elections. Will you accept any donations from outside special interest groups? Why or why not?

I understand that outside money has historically been a factor in IPS school board elections. As of this writing (August 10, 2026), I have not accepted any donations but I am not sure what the future holds. The guiding principle for me is “Does this partner have student outcomes at the heart of their mission like I do?” If the answer is “yes”, then I would at least have a conversation. It’s all about integrity, compliance, and creating positive student outcomes. My campaign will always make decisions regarding campaign finance using those ideals as guiding principles.