A social media post that said IPS might shrink its boundaries to Center Township has captured parents’ interest, leading some IPS families to ask whether their kids’ schools could change or close.
At first, a district official said the idea was just a rumor. But, as the question came up again in meetings on Monday, Nov. 3, and Tuesday, Nov. 4, it became more clear that the concept had come up in conversation among members of a new group charged with planning for IPS’ future.
The conversation, however, was just that, district officials now say. No proposals changing IPS’ boundaries have been put forward, at least not formally.
What to know about the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance
- Indy is home to dozens of traditional public and charter schools. Some have advocated for years for a simplified system.
- State lawmakers threatened to step in this year. One wanted to dissolve IPS and convert the district into charter schools.
- IPS advocates pushed back and compromised with the creation of the new group. It will study facilities, transportation and finance. Recommendations are expected by the end of the year.
Mark your calendars to join the conversation about Indy schools
Here are six opportunities to learn more about potential changes to IPS.
The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance has been meeting for several months to talk about how to better offer transportation and share facilities among public schools within the IPS district boundaries. That includes charter schools.
The alliance is expected to make recommendations for changes by the end of the year — leading to a busy November filled with community meetings as officials solicit feedback from families and about what they think should happen next.
Members of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance have discussed reducing IPS boundaries, Michael O’Connor said during a meeting of the City-County Council’s Education Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
But when asked about the topic after the meeting, O’Connor stressed to Mirror Indy that the alliance isn’t actively considering the idea. Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members include IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and Mayor Joe Hogsett, among others.
Dan Boots, a city councilor representing the northeast side, called the idea “political suicide.”
“I’m pretty comfortable saying the opinion of the outlying townships is, that would be blasphemy,” Boots said during the meeting. “People would light torches and grab pitchforks.”
Meanwhile, parents say they’re growing weary of the constant changes among Indianapolis schools. They’d like to see a greater investment in all types of public schools. Creating stability was voiced as a top desire among parents who attended the district’s first November community meeting.
Dana Harrison, a mom from Irvington, said over the years her two kids have attended three different IPS schools, two charter schools and two private schools. Her oldest is in ninth grade.
She said she’s made choices to move her kids into different schools as IPS has rearranged school assignments and grade configurations.
“Choice is a great thing but it also creates this dynamic of constantly reexamining the choices you’re making as a parent,” said Harrison, who has a student at an IPS school and one at an innovation charter school. “It’s kind of a miserable way to parent.”
Should IPS be in Center Township only?
The idea that IPS could reduce its boundaries to just Center Township started to circulate on social media last week after an anonymous post was shared to a neighborhood Facebook page.
The anonymous user shared that they’d heard several popular Midtown schools could be affected and that the only way those buildings would stay open is if they were absorbed by surrounding school districts or converted to charter schools.
When asked about the posts on Oct. 31, a district spokesperson told Mirror Indy that it was just a rumor. But the idea came up again in public meetings in early November. Parents asked about it at a community listening session, and a city-county councilor brought it up the next day during the city’s education committee meeting.
IPS currently runs more than a dozen schools outside of Center Township. The schools are primarily concentrated on the north side with IPS boundary lines snaking into parts of Washington, Wayne, Lawrence, Warren and Pike Townships.
It’s not unrealistic to think IPS might have to close schools in the future. District officials testified during this year’s legislative session that changes to Indiana’s property tax laws could lead to school closures or reduced transportation for students across the city.
Six years from now, when a new law that requires districts to share property taxes with charter schools is fully phased in, IPS will have lost about half of its operations fund, IPS Commissioner Allissa Impink told families during a Nov. 3 community meeting.
And, the district is coming up on the expiration of a separate operating tax referendum in 2026 that helps fund teacher salaries and services for students with disabilities.
Commissioners asked families during their Nov. 3 meeting to “think big” about what the district’s future could look like. Their presentation even mentioned district boundaries.
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“What we’ve heard covers a range of radical ideas from proposals to an all-charter system,” Commissioner Nicole Carey said, “…to more collaborative, citywide efforts like boundary realignment and deeper, intentional collaboration between IPS and the city of Indianapolis.”
IPS officials clarified in a Nov. 5 statement to Mirror Indy that school boundaries have been part of the alliance’s conversation — but nothing has been presented as a formal proposal.
“When tasked with a charge of this magnitude — less than a year after the threat of dissolving IPS altogether,” the district’s statement reads, in part, “every option must be considered to engage in full and thoughtful conversations about what will best support Indianapolis students.”
‘A question, not even a formal proposal’
The initial rumor could stem from a conversation among members of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.
O’Connor — the alliance’s project manager — told city-county councilors during their Nov. 4 education committee meeting that alliance members have been meeting recently to explore options for facilities and transportation.
Those task force meetings have taken place behind closed doors as the alliance is not subject to Indiana’s Open Door Laws for public meetings.
During the conversations, O’Connor said, alliance members have explored “a question, not even a formal proposal” of whether shrinking IPS boundaries would make the district more efficient.
But, he also told councilors: “No one’s come up with the answer to that. There’s lots of complications.”
After the meeting, O’Connor declined to answer specific questions about what it would mean to change IPS boundaries, saying that the alliance “is not actively considering it.”
“It’s been tangentially mentioned,” he said, “but not a subject of deep discussion.”
Meanwhile, this month, IPS parents say they’re just looking for consistency.
Harrison, the Irvington mom, said she’s just glad her kids are growing closer and closer to graduation. She said she loves the value of her students’ IPS education, but she’s looking at charter high schools for her seventh grader.
Today, she said, those schools appear to be more stable.
“We believe in the broad range of experiences and diversity that our kids get, and we’re proud of the perspective that they have on the world,” Harrison said. “And, we’re not going to move, but we are going to continue to look for the best place for our students to be within the urban environment.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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