Indianapolis Public Schools: Learn about the $410 million referendum – IndyStar

The Indianapolis Public Schools district is asking voters for a $410 million capital referendum on this years May primary ballot. Those dollars would go towards improvements on more than 20 IPS buildings.

IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson recently sat down with IndyStar to share why she thinks voters should approve the referendum this May.

Her answers have been edited for length and clarity.

IndyStar: What is at stake if this referendum doesnt pass?

If we are successful on May 2, we will be able to bring every elementary and middle school building up to a status of good condition, meaning just in need of routine maintenance. On a project schedule that we have right now, that could all be accomplished in the next eight years.

If we are not successful, then those same projects would take us the next 14 years to complete, assuming that we don't have any additional system failures and I can nearly guarantee that we would, given the age of some of those systems in our buildings. So it's really a difference between how soon can we deliver on what we believe our kids deserve to have access to.

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IndyStar: The last capital referendum was just five years ago. Why do you need another?

In 2018, we went out for both an operating and a capital referendum. The operating referendum was solely about staff compensation, and if we're a district that's trying to drive for better student outcomes, well guess what, you need high-quality compensated teachers to make that happen. I believe we've delivered on the commitment we made in 2018 on the operating referendum. Then on the capital side, we had a safety and security referendum that was about $52 million.

This is about those bigger projects that are more substantive in nature that need to get accomplished for our schools. When we see that 30% of our buildings have been rated as in poor or worse condition. When we look at the average age of an IPS building being 61 years old. The longer we wait to take on those projects, the more extreme the need is going to be.

IndyStar: Have you been good stewards of public dollars?

There have been a number of initiatives and efforts to find savings and or reduce costs. When we've had the flexibility to dispose of facilities, for example, we've done that to the tune of upwards of $25 million. We've reduced some of our central office roles and other staffing roles, particularly in our facilities and operations side to just be more efficient. We've invested in a wellness team so that we can proactively be asking our employees to take on some practices that keep them healthier to help the bottom line in costs around health insurance.

IndyStar: With inflation high why should IPS voters approve a tax increase?

My worry is if we were to continue to wait what that would mean about the bottom-line cost of the very same projects that we need to still do is risking even more facilities deteriorations or systems failures. So certainly, the timing in terms of what taxpayers are being asked matters. That's why we've tried to be very thoughtful about talking about the ways in which we have saved dollars, the ways in which we've worked to be responsible fiscal stewards of public resources.

IndyStar: If this referendum isnt passed will that impact Rebuilding Stronger?

Some parts of the referendum are about supporting the academic programming for Rebuilding Stronger, so for example, at Arlington Middle School, where there's a massive investment not just in the campus grounds, but also in STEM-based classrooms.

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If the referendum does not pass, it will require us to spend some time over the next few months determining how do we still provide that experience to our students knowing that unfortunately, the physical environment that could best set them up for success may not be readily available. That would be hugely disappointing.

We've given ourselves the 23-24 school year to plan so that we can be thoughtful and intentional so certainly there is some time in there for us to readjust course, but my prayer is that we won't have to do that.

IndyStar: The legislature hasnt settled its budget yet, but if they do approve a plan that would share property tax dollars with charter schools, what might the effect be?

Under both the Senate and House plan, we are projecting out what would be multiple million dollars of loss over the next several years and so that's concerning. We know that school districts are still responding to the impact of COVID-19 on student learning. We're really proud that we've seen some of the most significant growth from 2019 to 2022 across our state in terms of our students. So the momentum that we feel right now, we want to continue to accelerate, and if our state legislature makes decisions that actually put us in a more precarious position to do that, that would be a huge disappointment.

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We have a number of charter partners in our district. I understand their argument in terms of additional funding. I also believe that it does not have to be a zero-sum where a district full of students who also have incredible needs has to be negatively impacted to support schools or families who have made different choices. I think all students can get what they need if our state chooses to fund them in such a way to do that.

IndyStar: What has the community reaction been to the referendum?

A lot of excitement about schools that are coming back online, certainly for Thomas Carr Howe and Broad Ripple. There's a lot of excitement about those buildings being assets in the community that families can now take part in, being a part of the legacy and history of those buildings, being vibrant again, particularly from alums.

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A lot of excitement about the potential investment at Arlington Middle School, a lot of work happening in the Devington neighborhood. Ive heard from a number of folks about why that is really exciting and how it often feels like those are communities that have been forgotten. And we were very intentional about making investments in those communities to hopefully send a statement and a signal that we believe, and we want to be a part of those neighborhoods being reinvigorated.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 orCBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter:@CarolineB_Indy.

Carolines work is supported by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused onclosing access and achievement gaps in education.

Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of Carolines salary during her time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder.

To learn more about how you can support IndyStars partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visitindystar.com/RFA.

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Indianapolis Public Schools: Learn about the $410 million referendum - IndyStar