Kindergarten students perform classwork on their computers Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, at Paramount Cottage Home in Indianapolis. Paramount Cottage Home is one of nearly 60 charter schools participating in the 2026 Indianapolis school referendum. Credit: Doug McSchooler for Mirror Indy
Which charter schools will receive funding in the Indy schools referendum? How much will they get? Do other school districts share tax dollars too?
Mirror Indy asked for your burning questions about the Indianapolis schools referendum. Here’s what we tracked down.
As a reminder: IPS and about 60 charter schools are campaigning for a referendum this fall that would increase residents’ property taxes by about $115 a month, on average. If successful, IPS will collect about $46.4 million a year while charter schools will split about $48.5 million annually.
You can read more about the referendum, why Indy schools are seeking it and how it will affect your property bill in this Mirror Indy story.
Now, to your questions. We compiled questions through a Google Form, in emails and submitted through social media. Questions have been lightly edited for clarity.
Don’t see your question addressed here? We’ll leave our Google Form open.
Does the referendum proposal really support IPS needs? Or is it a guise for directing funds to charter schools, away from IPS?
The referendum rate on the ballot this year, 37.2 cents per $100 of assessed property value, is roughly double what property owners pay into the current referendum that funds IPS.
That means this new referendum — roughly half of which will go to IPS and half of which will go to charter schools — will continue funding IPS at about the same amount the district is used to.
However, other changes in how property tax is calculated have affected the district’s bottom line and IPS officials say they’ll need to make $20 million in cuts regardless of whether the referendum passes.
That’s why IPS officials advocated earlier this year for a higher overall referendum rate of 55 cents. The idea was the higher rate would have helped the district adjust to property tax changes while balancing new requirements to share money with charter schools.
Even though Mayor Joe Hogsett’s newly appointed education board ultimately chose a lesser rate, IPS officials say passing the referendum is essential to avoid even deeper cuts and potential state intervention in IPS schools.
IPS is having three community meetings to answer questions about the referendum.
What did IPS guarantee teachers for them to reverse their stance on the referendum?
The union representing IPS teachers announced its support for the referendum on Sept. 18.
In a public statement, union representatives said members initially chose not to support the referendum out of concern about the consequences the lower, 37.2-cent referendum rate could have for teachers and students.
After a month of conversation, teachers and administrators came to agreements on several high-stakes budget items that would be considered if the referendum passes.
prioritizing alternatives to teacher layoffs
giving consideration to school mergers and consolidations
repurposing service agreements with partner charter schools
advocating for more state funding for educating students with disabilities
Why will tax revenue be split evenly between IPS and charter schools? Are there the same number of IPS schools as there are charter schools?
Referendum sharing actually has more to do with where students choose to go to school than the number of charter schools in Indianapolis.
A 2025 law requires school districts to share referendum dollars based on how many students living within the district are enrolled in charter schools. In Indianapolis, about as many students choose to go to charter schools as choose to attend IPS.
The way it works: the more students a charter school enrolls, the more money the charter school receives in the Indianapolis referendum. In essence, it’s a continuation of state lawmakers’ philosophy that education dollars should follow students to the schools they choose to attend.
The formula also isn’t bound by a charter school’s location. For example, if a charter school in Lawrence enrolls a handful of students who live within the IPS district, that charter school can still be part of the referendum.
You can look up how many charter schools are participating in this fall’s referendum and how many students they enroll compared to IPS in this referendum spending plan.
Michael O’Connor, who served as acting director of the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, said the plan is only an estimate of what schools might receive from the referendum and that those totals could change.
Will all of the referendum dollars stay within the IPS boundary? If not, how much will travel outside of it?
Because referendum sharing is based on a money-follows-the-student model, some tax dollars could be directed to charter schools outside of the IPS boundary.
Each school’s share of the referendum would align with the number of students they enroll who live within IPS boundaries. Those schools and their projected annual revenue include:
Damar Charter Academy in Decatur Township with 41 students for about $106,000.
Dynamic Minds Academy in Lawrence Township with 28 students for about $72,000.
Geist Montessori Academy in Hancock County with 15 students for about $39,000.
Girls IN STEM Academy in Washington Township with 34 students for about $88,000.
Indiana Math and Science Academy North in Washington Township with 470 students for about $1.2 million.
Options Charter School, a network of four Indiana charter schools headquartered in Hamilton County with four students for about $10,000.
The Nature School of Central Indiana in Lawrence Township with 49 students for about $126,000.
One school listed in the spending plan — Paramount School of Excellence Lafayette — was erroneously included in the report, O’Connor told Mirror Indy. The Lafayette campus will not receive any money from the Indianapolis referendum.
With so many other school districts asking for referendums, how many others have to share money with charter schools?
All of them! The 2025 law requiring school districts to share money with charter schools applies to all school districts in the state.
If it feels like a bigger share in Indianapolis, that’s because there are more charter schools here and therefore more sharing to go around.
Other Indianapolis school districts will also have to share some of their referendum money with charter schools, though not as much as IPS.
Here’s what sharing looks like for each of the other Marion County school districts seeking a referendum this fall. (You can learn more about which charter schools will be funded by clicking each district’s spending plan.)
Beech Grove: Expected to share about $97,000 of $4.4 million raised each year with 13 charter schools. (Spending plan)
Decatur Township: Expected to share about $71,000 of no more than $9 million raised each year with 20 charter schools. (Spending plan)
Washington Township: Expected to share about $358,000 of $24 million raised each year with nine charter schools. (Spending plan)
Wayne Township: Expected to share about $332,000 of $29 million raised each year with 11 charter schools. (Spending plan)
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
How much money will charters get in the Indy schools referendum?
by Carley Lanich, Mirror Indy October 22, 2026
Local news delivered straight to your inbox
Mirror Indy's free newsletters are your daily dose of community-focused news stories.
By clicking Sign Up, you’re confirming that you agree with our Terms of Use.
