Candidate Q&A

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 spent a great deal of time during the ILEA process, legislative session, and now with IPEC testifying and organizing on behalf of IPS, and I kept seeing decisions made without the people they affect. Community voice was consistently ignored. When Dr. Gayle Cosby recommended me for the District 2 vacancy, I felt a responsibility to step up further. As a product of public schools, the first generation in my family born in the US and to go to college, a former public school teacher, and a researcher who studies how school choice affects marginalized communities, I will continue to push for policy that serves IPS students first.

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

The most pressing need is that IPS is being asked to serve students with the greatest needs while its funding shrinks. Meanwhile, choice schools across the city enroll fewer students with special needs and multilingual learners than IPS does. Therefore, underfunding IPS affects every classroom because the research is clear that inclusive practices such as co-teaching, universal design, and language-rich instruction improve outcomes for every student in the room. IPS cannot do more with less. IPS cannot maintain its current level of services with less, either. Budget cuts have to be made in order to align with reduced funding. On the board, I’d push for student centered budgeting, including transparent accounting of where every dollar goes and prioritize resources that reach classrooms. I will push for re-negotiation of contracts with schools receiving in-kind services from IPS. We can no longer afford to subsidize Innovation Network Schools. I will also continue to advocate for sustained pressure at the Statehouse where the underfunding originates. There is no reason that our state should have cash reserves and surpluses in the multi-billion dollar range while numerous Indianapolis area school districts are forced to seek referendums; the tax money is already being collected. It’s just being stockpiled instead of spent on public education.

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

Like many districts across the country that predominantly serve Students of Color, IPS has been pushed by state and federal accountability policies to prioritize the tested subjects of English and math. While these are obviously important, subjects like social studies and science, as well as the arts and humanities are often what makes learning the most fun for kids. Students need to be engaged; and offering these subjects is crucial. I believe, especially in the age of artificial intelligence, that the humanities are more important than ever, and bringing them back provides an opportunity to reinvigorate students’ love for learning. A curriculum built around what is tested prepares students for exactly the work that is being automated. Our society does not need automatons. What will make the most difference for kids and our society are the critical thinking skills that humanities teach: judgment, interpretation, knowing what questions to ask, and how to evaluate information. On the board, I would push to protect these subjects in the budget and the school day.

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

I would like to see IPS be more present and vocal in their advocacy with IPEC. IPEC needs to remain focused on its original intent of serving ALL students, regardless of school type. The composition of the IPEC staff and board members does not currently reflect this reality, and seems to advantageously position charter schools. The IPS board needs to be very intentional about who is chosen to represent the needs of IPS students. As a board member, I would push for transparency around all school decisions that IPEC makes, especially as it relates to the management of school buildings. Enrollment is a driving factor in these decisions, yet the data used to make these decisions is not publicly available. I have yet to see a feasibility study based on broader demographic data to inform decision making about how many schools are needed in each geographical area. Additionally, the building capacity of each school has not been studied. The redesigning of Enroll Indy (the enrollment “machine” for both charter and IPS) will provide an excellent opportunity to make these types of data-informed decisions; and ensure a transparent and equitable enrollment methodology that puts families and students first. The new enrollment methodology that is developed needs to be available for public scrutiny and stakeholders should be provided multiple opportunities for input before the newly developed methodology is adopted. This should be common practice anytime a new initiative is developed under IPEC, or IPS for that matter. This is the essence of public accountability.

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

I support the referendum and the rate- both are absolutely necessary for the students and families of IPS. I do not support the current educational funding structure in the State of Indiana. I believe the most critical needs that the referendum will address are special education, support for multilingual learners, and operating costs. It is problematic that the voters have to continually decide to fund public schools in their area rather than the state deciding that funding for public education is a priority – especially in the face of a $6B surplus! I am confident that most voters would rather their tax dollars go to the funding of public schools than to sit in the state’s coffers as a surplus. I support the referendum because I believe it is the best we can do in the current situation; absent any changes to law or policy at the state level regarding educational funding. The current funding structure in Indiana is inadequate and shouldn’t rely solely on local property taxes. Additionally, state funds earmarked for education are also being increasingly diverted to private school vouchers, charter schools, career scholarships and education savings accounts I am disappointed that the funding mechanism necessitates that most districts have to ask for referendums just to stay afloat, and I am also disappointed that the referendum ask has to be higher because IPS must share the funds so broadly.

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?

All budget cut decisions need to be made from the lens of ‘impact within the classroom’. By that I mean: the budget cuts need to have the LEAST amount of impact inside the classroom as possible. We should not sacrifice direct service staff such as teachers, paraprofessionals, and school level employees unless it is absolutely unavoidable. This does mean that we may have to look at the organizational chart for the IPS Education Center and restructure our human resources where necessary. We may have to evaluate what human capital we have; and what tasks might be better completed in-house. For example, IPS outsourced its substitute teaching about a decade ago – have we evaluated the cost savings to the district as a result? With budget cuts needed of this scope, all MOU’s and contracts for goods and services will need to be evaluated on a rolling basis, as they come up for renewal. This includes Innovation Network School partnerships. In light of the reductions in funding, IPS cannot continue to subsidize anything financial in these partnerships. Innovation network charters will need to use their increased funding to pay for the in-kind and/or discounted services they are receiving from IPS.

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

IPS is a public institution accountable to the public. One issue that has bothered me for quite some time is how inaccessible the charter school board meetings, minutes and records are in comparison to the IPS board. IPEC also has this problem; their meeting agendas and materials are not posted ahead of time and the meeting times are inaccessible for the majority of the public. There is always room for improvement on the IPS board as well. Besides the traditional avenues of constituent contact via email, phone, or the IPS Board of School Commissioners’ office, I plan to have a presence at community gatherings, and by posting informal “office hours” at local coffee shops or other public spaces like libraries where the community can drop by and discuss IPS-related topics. I take constituent feedback very seriously. I believe that if someone feels so strongly about an issue to take time out of their busy day to show up in person to advocate, or to take the time to write an email or make a phone call, then it is my duty as their elected representative to make myself available and be an active listener to their concerns and/or feedback.

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?

This is an interesting question because, as I campaign, I am discovering that what organizations people deem to be “special interest groups” varies wildly. As a former unionized classroom teacher, I am proud to accept the endorsement of the Indianapolis Education Association. However, I must admit I do NOT consider the teacher’s union a “special interest group”. They represent the interests of the backbone of IPS, the teachers. As a former public school teacher who was a member of a union, I cherish their endorsement. Conversely, I consider groups such as Stand for Children, RISE Indy, and The Mind Trust to be “special interest groups” because they use donations from billionaires to advance the privatization of public schools through the expansion of charter schools and vouchers for private schools. What makes them a special interest group in a public school board election is the fact that they use their money and power to purchase board seats in order to advance the concept of the educational marketplace here. They exist, in short, to advance the charter school agenda. This marketplace sense of competition between IPS and charter schools has been going on for about 25 years now, and in my opinion it is what has led us to this critical juncture where IPS has done a great deal of harm. It is the reason why IPS is underfunded, and why we are now reliant on referendums just to keep the lights on. For these reasons, my views do not align with those of Stand for Children or RISE Indy and I CHOSE NOT to participate in their endorsement applications or processes.