IPS' biggest threat is its own defenders; aka the public sector teacher's union.

[Muda69]

https://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/james-briggs/2026/09/10/ips-referendum-no-vote-wont-help/91664189007/

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Indianapolis Public Schools needs voters to approve a $95 million operating referendum this year to maintain any semblance of the district's status quo. Maybe even to continue having a traditional public school district.

We can debate which portions of that status quo are worth preserving, but that is an argument for Nov. 4 and beyond — if, and only if, the referendum passes on Election Day. If it doesn't, IPS' future will likely cease to be a matter of local control.

“If it were not to pass, I would expect there would be some additional state intervention or oversight of our district,” IPS Superintendent Aleesia Johnson told Chalkbeat Indiana in August.

IPS is staring down $20 million in cuts and more school closings, even in a best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is the end of IPS as we know it.

You can blame whoever you want for IPS' precarious position. The district has suffered a decades-long decline and now faces a state legislature with at least some members who would happily take a wrecking ball to what's left. But they aren't the greatest short-term threat to IPS.

The Indianapolis teachers union is urging voters to reject the referendum, an inexplicable position that could usher in doomsday for its members. The Indianapolis Education Association is not alone. Opposition is growing among progressives and traditional public school advocates — the very people IPS is counting on to pass it.

Some hardcore IPS supporters, including the teachers union, oppose the referendum because charter schools would get half of the revenue. The state legislature this year created the Indianapolis Public Education Corp., a mayor-appointed board with taxing authority. IPEC set the $95 million referendum amount — which is lower than IPS wanted — and now state law mandates IPS must split referendum money with about 60 charter schools operating in Indianapolis.

 

If you want to be mad about that, fair enough. You can oppose the Republican-controlled legislature, charter schools, IPEC and even the Democratic mayor, Joe Hogsett, who appointed IPEC's members. All fine.

It's one thing to stand on principle. It's another to disregard reality.

Here's the reality. Voters within the IPS boundary face a choice between something and nothing. Voters can raise taxes on themselves (by about $100 a year for the average homeowner, per Chalkbeat) and give IPS $47.5 million per year or vote no and give IPS zero dollars. That's the deal. No better deal is coming. There is no alternate universe in which voters reject this referendum and IPS comes out ahead later on.

Yet, the Indianapolis teachers union is supporting a catastrophic outcome for IPS to spite charter schools. Forget about Republican lawmakers. The public school absolutists who claim to be IPS' strongest defenders are putting the district's self-determination at risk.

I know why parents are giving up on IPS

I've spent the past few years writing about IPS from the perspective of a parent within the district. I'm not anymore. My family moved to a private school this year.

I could offer dozens of reasons why we made the move. My wife and I spent more time and emotional labor on this school decision than we did over whether to have kids in the first place. But the simplest version is this: IPS cut the position of my son's teacher in the middle of the last school year, and the disruption was painful. We needed stability.

We would almost certainly still be in IPS if we hadn't lost my son's teacher. I don't cast any aspersions on the district for making tough calls with limited resources, but families have to make tough calls, too. Through that process, I talked to many other parents agonizing over their children's education. It's not easy in Indianapolis. Many parents don't understand their options within this sprawling school choice environment. Those who do often feel overwhelmed. 

The upshot is that every time IPS cuts a position, consolidates schools or spreads teachers' time across multiple buildings, more families have to decide whether they're in or out. It's a vicious cycle leaving the district with ever fewer resources and ever fewer students. If you care about IPS, and I still do, the enrollment trends are frightening. IPS needs every dollar it can work with to steady its schools and break this cycle.

Yes, IPS will continue cutting its budget regardless of the November election. That's not a reason to reject the referendum. A failed public school referendum in Indianapolis would accelerate cuts, causing immediate and drastic consequences for IPS families caught in the fallout heading toward the 2027-28 school year. Many — especially those already on the bubble — would feel they have no choice but to leave.

If the traditional public school model has a future in Indianapolis, that future begins with this referendum. A yes vote buys time and options. A no vote speeds the way to dissolution.

What most people don't understand is that a labor union, by it's very nature, has it's members as the #1 priority.  Not children/students, not patients, not widgets, etc. 

So never believe the propaganda being spewed by the the ISTA/NEA that it really cares about students, and education.  It cares about the money, and how much of that money goes into their member's pockets and the union's coffers.  All was well and good when IPS had a virtual monopoly on the education business in Marion county, but not now when they actually have some competition in the education market.