Adrea McCloud left the public assembly room on Wednesday, Dec. 17, prepared to have yet another difficult conversation with her husband.
The couple both teach music in Indianapolis Public Schools, a district that could, once again, experience big changes following the newly decided recommendations of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.
The McClouds have been vocal advocates for IPS over the past year. They’ve put in hours testifying at the Statehouse, school board meetings and now the City-County Building to advocate for stability for their students. They’re also parents with children who attend IPS.
“We’re now one step closer to having to consider: Is this where we want to stay?” McCloud told Mirror Indy, fighting back tears. “Is this the educational landscape that I want my children exposed to?”
McCloud and other IPS advocates say they’re exhausted. The past year began at the Statehouse, where they fought a proposal to dissolve IPS authored by a northern Indiana lawmaker. That bill failed but led to the creation of the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, which has spent the last six months studying ways IPS can more closely collaborate with charter schools.
With the alliance’s long-awaited recommendations now out, IPS parents and teachers are gearing up to return to the Statehouse once again for a new fight over who gets to control essential school services, such as facility maintenance and transportation.
“We don’t want this bureaucracy nightmare,” IPS teacher Hannah Marley told Mirror Indy. “We don’t want this and they need to listen.”
What did the alliance recommend?
The Indianapolis Local Education Alliance thinks a new, independent public education corporation should control facilities maintenance and buses for schools within the IPS boundary, charters included. The idea was the focal point of recommendations put forward in an 8-to-1 vote during a public meeting Dec. 17.
See the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance’s full recommendations here.
Under the alliance’s plan, the new corporation would be run by an executive director appointed by the mayor. It would also be overseen by a mayor-appointed board and collect some property taxes on behalf of schools to manage transportation and facilities services for them.
Supporters of the recommendations say the ideas include wins for students across the city, including a commitment that every public school provide transportation. Several Indianapolis charter schools don’t do that currently, which some charter parents say has limited their choice of schools.
“Without reliable transportation, we had to choose what was closest, not what was best,” said Ada Lemus, a charter school parent who delivered her public comment with the help of a Spanish translator.
Charter-friendly groups, such as The Mind Trust, RISE Indy and Stand for Children Indiana, shared quick support for the alliance’s recommendations.
The Mind Trust’s CEO Brandon Brown told Mirror Indy in an interview that it represents a major victory for the charter school reform movement — one that’s being watched by school systems across the country.
“We are literally contemplating a structure for a public school system that has never before been done in the history of the country,” Brown said. “It’s not just important to our community, but the eyes of the country will certainly be on us.”
IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson also supports the plan.
In an explanation before her vote, Johnson said the ideas are imperfect but include bright spots for the district. A call for greater state funding for students with disabilities, for example, could help IPS contend with a $24 million funding gap to serve those students.
Tina Ahlgren, the lone vote against recommendations, said she still has questions about how the plan would help IPS save money. She said she fears recommendations do not go far enough to help the district sustain funding for educating students with disabilities or students who are homeless — two vulnerable populations that often require more resources from their schools.
Keeping a tight budget is important to IPS leadership as the district considers whether it will need to close schools in response to lower property tax collections and loss of revenue from a tax referendum that is set to expire next year.
“This is not something I get to just walk away from,” said Ahlgren, who is an IPS teacher and parent. “I will live with the consequences of these decisions everyday.”
Alliance recommendations met with protest
The nine-member alliance took its vote among a highly animated and disapproving crowd.
Nearly twice as many people spoke against the alliance’s ideas during public comment as those who spoke in favor. Opponents included representatives of several groups, including MADVoters, the Greater Indianapolis NAACP, the African American Coalition of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Urban League.
“It is antidemocratic and antithetical to democracy to try to replace an elected school board with an appointed form of government,” Mark Russell, director of advocacy for the Indianapolis Urban League, told alliance members during his public comment. “We just went through this with redistricting at the Statehouse and you saw how bipartisan support emerged to maintain the people’s right to be heard.”
Tensions reached their peak when Michael O’Connor, the consultant serving as project manager for the alliance, introduced the alliance’s recommendations for a vote.
A few advocates in the audience shouted over alliance members. One attendee was removed after jumping up the stairs where alliance members sat, speaking outside of the designated public comment period.
“You cannot take my tax money, their tax money, and give it to people who do not have interest in this city,” Indianapolis resident Madison Whitcomb shouted as they were removed from the room.
What happens next?
The alliance’s recommendations will be compiled in a report and delivered to state and local policymakers. State laws will almost certainly need changes to carry out many aspects of the alliance’s vision.
A note shared on IPS’ website says parents should not expect any school-level changes until at least the 2026-27 school year.
McCloud, the IPS music teacher, didn’t get to speak to the alliance before members took their vote. She came late to the weeknight meeting after directing a school music performance. The teacher and parent said she hopes it’s made clear to lawmakers that the recommendations do not reflect everyone’s views.
Marley, also an IPS teacher, shared similar thoughts. She said she and others will take time to regroup and prepare their next steps.
“This fight has been grueling and exhausting,” Marley said. “We all need a break, but we have no choice. I’m a public school teacher with IPS. I want my building and my students to be there. I want my job to be there and that is what’s at risk.”
At least a couple IPS school board members are likely to join McCloud this January at the Statehouse. Commissioners Allissa Impink, Gayle Cosby, and Nicole Carey joined members of the Indianapolis Education Association teachers union and the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America for a press conference outside of the City-County Building before the alliance’s vote.
“This doesn’t end today,” Impink told supporters. “I want our city and our state to hear us clearly: Indianapolis believes in public education, Indianapolis believes in local voice and Indianapolis is not done fighting for a system that works for all of our children.”
A correction was made on Dec. 19, 2025: This story has been updated to correctly attribute a quote to IPS teacher Hannah Marley.
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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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