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The new governing authority for Indianapolis schools moved closer to solidifying an operating structure and reviewed its proposed annual budget Monday, but didn’t discuss the school district’s recent moves to claim more autonomy.
Of the $3.2 million proposed budget for IPEC, more than $1.9 million would go to consulting fees plus other outside expertise, and $1 million would pay for staff salaries. The remaining $300,000 would fund a commercial space for IPEC’s day-to-day operations, although IPEC’s staff is in talks about keeping offices in the City-County building.
IPEC was established by state lawmakers to manage transportation and buildings for Indianapolis Public Schools and charter schools, with the purpose of unifying school services in district boundaries. The nine-member board has slowly pursued those plans since it began work earlier this year; in July, it voted to appoint national charter school advocate Karega Rausch as its executive director.
But at Monday’s meeting, no IPEC board or staff members challenged recent controversial moves by the district to leave the universal enrollment system Enroll Indy and revisit its contracts with Innovation Network charter schools after this school year. Charter leaders expressed outrage about both changes, and the tension could make the corporation’s work harder in the months ahead. State law says IPEC has the power to manage a unified enrollment system for the schools it oversees.
Along with reviewing its budget proposal, IPEC on Monday discussed the operating referendum for the city’s schools on the ballot next month. Rausch said his team is focused on helping the proposed tax measure pass and is stressing its importance to students. IPEC Chairman David Harris also called the referendum a top priority.
Rausch, who presented the proposed 2027 budget for IPEC, said he will discuss it again by the end of the year. But he didn’t promise that he would share more details before the board’s next meeting on Oct. 29, when it is expected to vote on the budget. The board does expect to share a more detailed budget and staffing plan at some point soon, he said.
“I want to be careful not to overpromise, but certainly strategic conversations with the board will happen,” Rausch said. “I know we have talked about engaging in that process before the end of this calendar year, for certain.”
The board expects to focus on communications and community engagement as part of next year’s priorities, he said.
“I can’t think of any work that this body is going to do that won’t require us to deeply and thoughtfully engage the community in thoughtful and intentional ways,” Rausch said.
During the public comment period at Monday’s meeting, two candidates for IPS school board expressed concerns about the board’s transparency and fiscal responsibility concerns with the board.
Lindsey Cornett, who is running for the District 4 seat, said she was concerned about IPEC’s budget for consulting amid financial troubles for the school district.
“That’s a significant amount of money when our public schools are in a financial crisis,” she said. “Where are the transportation and building experts on this body who could be saving $1.9 million dollars in taxpayer funding.”
The money for consultants will help the board craft plans for school performance, transportation, and enrollment, Rausch said.
District 2 candidate Bryan Duarte echoed Cornett’s worries and added that the board is not erring on the side of transparency. He referenced the noon meeting time and the difficulty in finding IPEC’s budget online.
“This does not show an actual intentional approach to engaging the community, and you should be really embarrassed by that,” Duarte said.
Meanwhile, Harris asked how philanthropic dollars might help the organization’s work. Rausch said he does not want IPEC to be reliant on those outside dollars.
“The intent is for the operations of IPEC to not be dependent on anything other than the resources that we know we will have,” Rausch said. “I want to make sure that’s really important and really clear. We may look for some resources with some of the building and thinking support areas.”
IPEC is exempt from the City-County Code of Ethics, so staff proposed the corporation’s own code derived in part from that language. The board is responsible for enforcing those rules while allowing members to represent their designated education interests.
Mike O’Connor of the Bose Public Affairs Group, who previously served as IPEC’s interim executive director, now has a contract to help IPEC during its initial year. The board voted to reduce O’Connor’s monthly support from $40,000 to $25,000 through the end of the year.
“That will allow us to continue to use some of the important consultation and other support services that they have provided for us, while giving us a space to consider our staffing work that we need beyond this period of time,” Rausch said.
Beginning in January, IPEC will put attorney Jon Mayes of Bose, McKinney & Evans on a retainer agreement rather than continuing his current hourly pay rate. Rausch said legal work is expected to streamline, not ramp up.