Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson announced Monday $17 million in cuts to central office operations, the second phase of a budget-reduction effort driven by enrollment declines and a financial crisis tied to the end of a voter-approved property tax levy at the end of this year.
The reductions include eliminating roughly 28 central office positions, cutting or eliminating vendor contracts across all departments, restructuring how some elementary and middle school athletics are delivered, discontinuing Friday extracurricular bus service and raising pre-K tuition.
“Now these were not easy decisions, but they were made with a clear focus on ways we could spend less at the district level while minimizing further impact to our schools and sustaining strong outcomes for our students long term,” Johnson said in a video message.
Last year, IPS reported 65 non-teaching, district-level administrators who were paid a total average compensation of $141,700, according to a state report.
The announcement follows a $7 million cut to school-level budgets approved in March, which eliminated 36 certified teaching positions and 23 classified staff. Combined, IPS has reduced its workforce by 2.3%, or 87 employees out of 3,709.
At the center of IPS’s financial pressure is enrollment. Because Indiana funds schools primarily through per-pupil state allocations, fewer students means less revenue. IPS lost 1,281 students this school year dropping to 19,774 students, a 6% decrease from last year, according to state records. High school enrollment fell 9%.
An IPS finance report from February shows the district is on pace to end the year with a $40 million cash deficit.
Compounding the uncertainty, the 2018 operating referendum — a voter-approved property tax levy that has supported teacher salaries and academic programs — expires Dec. 31. The levy brought in at least $43 million in additional revenue to the district in recent years.
Johnson framed Monday’s announcement as a deliberate signal to the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC — the new mayor-appointed body created by state law this spring to jointly oversee IPS and Indianapolis charter schools.
IPEC is moving toward placing a new operating referendum on the November ballot that would cover both IPS and the city’s charter schools.
“As we move toward a referendum, it is vital that we demonstrate to those decision makers as well as to our broader community that we are committed to responsible and deliberate fiscal discipline,” Johnson said in the message.
IPEC held its first meeting in April. The board, chaired by Christel House CEO David Harris, must determine how much to seek from voters. A public hearing is required before the board takes final action by Aug. 1 to make the November ballot.
“How many dollars?” acting executive director Michael O’Connor said at the April meeting. “And how many years?”
This article was written by WFYI editor Eric Weddle.