This post, as with all of my personal blog entries, reflect my opinions alone and are not representative in any way with any organization that I am affiliated with personally, politically, or professionally.
We have to move public education in Indianapolis forward.
TL;DR: I am proposing that Chicago’s Local School Councils be considered as a strategy moving forward to ensure school autonomy and eliminate the need for a loose system of charter schools with privately appointed boards that are unaccountable for how they spend tax dollars.
As they say, change is the only constant. Public education in the state of Indiana has been forever changed as the result of a tenuous legislative session earlier this year. Legislative decisions were made by a republican supermajority that will affect not only schools in Indianapolis (IPS), but for the entire state of Indiana, likely for generations.
It is incredibly clear that the majority of Indiana lawmakers aim(ed) to remove power from public schools, where power equals decision making and adequate funding. Starting with the proposed HB 1136, which, if passed, would have totally dismantled Indianapolis Public Schools, and additionally SB 1 which DID pass, which according to the Indiana State Teachers Association, reduces public school funding via property tax sharing statewide to the tune of “…estimated net reduction in revenue (from what was estimated without SB 1) for school corporations is $130.1M in CY 2026, $146.8M in CY 2027, and $266.9M in CY 2028” (ISTA, 2025). One other pertinent outcome from this legislative session was the passing of HEA 1515, which created the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance, a city-led body CURRENTLY operating and tasked to “address facility and transportation management, among other topics such as governance structure and increasing efficiency. The goal of the alliance is to deepen collaboration across traditional public and public charter schools and support a strong academic experience for all students” (City of Indianapolis, 2025).
All of these legislative changes necessitate immediate pivots for public school systems, if they intend to survive. Of course, I am not interested in just seeing our public schools survive, but thrive. So, dear reader, I found a model that is absolutely worth mentioning to you for consideration on how to move public schools forward. For clarity, I define ‘public schools’ here in the traditional sense that they are a “COMMON GOOD”; that they are supported by taxpayer dollars and in turn held accountable by those same taxpayers who elect a public representative to steward and govern taxpayer resources that have poured into the public school system over the years. Thusly, I view Indianapolis Public School assets in their entirety (all real-estate buildings and land, transportation/vehicles, physical furnishings and curricular materials) as belonging to every taxpayer whose dollars have flowed into the system, regardless of whether they have kids in the system or not. Because ultimately, every Indianapolis resident benefits from a strong public school system which ideally produces well-rounded and educated citizens.
Clearly, my view of public schools as a “COMMON GOOD” is not a popular one, when you consider the political moves that have been made. Example: IPS legislatively forced to share property tax dollars with Marion county charter schools, which do not have taxpayer representation in the form of democratically elected boards. This comes at a projected loss of approximately $96 million. Drastic funding cuts require drastic measures.
We are at a crossroads with the ILEA’s decision making. The ILEA could allow the current scenario of taxpayer money funding privately owned and governed charter school entities to continue uninterrupted (which is likely) – or, we could offer a new path forward in Local School Councils, which integrates a democratic system of school-based governance and autonomy while still retaining the elected IPS Board as we know it. This keeps public schools public and retains them as a “COMMON GOOD” by eliminating the need for charter schools to maintain a separate unelected board of directors.Under this proposed plan, every school benefits from the overarching IPS governing body stewarding taxpayers’ resources, while simultaneously benefitting from an internal structure supporting increased autonomy at the school levels. More about Local School Councils:
Chicago Public Schools has utilized a system of Local School Councils (LSC) for many decades to provide autonomy in the form of decision-making and financial stewardship at the school level for every school in their district. Under the purview of the LSC:
- Approving the school based academic plan (CIWP)
- Approving the alignment of budgetary resources to the CIWP
- Engaging in the annual evaluation of contract principal’s professional practices
- Selecting or renewing contract principals (Chicago Public Schools, 2025)
I credit my friend and prolific community scholar John Harris Loflin as an early proponent of bringing the Local School Council model to Indianapolis. He and several co-authors initially proposed this plan in 2012. For a deeper understanding (through a 2012-lens) please review their initial proposal.
From my experience as a former K-12 educator, I am in favor of Local School Councils for Indianapolis because they ensure that individual schools can govern themselves in accordance with their own particular curricular focus and building culture, while inviting true stakeholders (teachers, parents, and STUDENTS) to be a part of the democratic decision making process; under the auspices of a broader elected IPS body which governs the entirety of the district.
This proposed plan is as timely as it is important. Why? Because as the ILEA is currently weighing out decisions for the future of IPS, involving the possibility of changing the current IPS governance structure. Indianapolis/IPS-resident taxpayers are in danger of losing their voice; their longstanding ability to elect school board members to represent their interests. The removal of democratically elected representation is fascist. The moving of public (taxpayer owned) assets into private ownership is neoliberal in terms of privatization of public goods and assets. Last time I checked, good old Wikipedia still exists, and it tells me that FASCISM AND DEMOCRACY CANNOT CO-EXIST. The time is now, and it is up to US to stop fascist ideology from permeating through to our hyper-local Indianapolis government structures. Let’s collectively raise our voice to rally against the loss of democracy, and the loss of public education as a common good. The time for forward progress is now.