This state legislative session was a disaster for public schools and saw a naked transfer of wealth and power from the working class to the ruling class. Among these absurd and corrupt bills was the so-called “Indianapolis Local Education Alliance.”
This is not an “alliance.” It’s an attempted takeover.
Although the ILEA is only technically empowered to make recommendations, within the larger context of the continued destruction of Indianapolis’ education system, it is clear that this is just another way for millionaires and billionaires to justify taking control of our public assets and making personal profits from our tax dollars.
After cynically doing photo ops at an IPS school just last week, Mayor Hogsett has appointed himself to preside over an unelected body set to recommend just how much the Project 2025-aligned education privatization lobby will get to steal from our public schools.
And they can do it completely behind closed doors – at the request of whom? None other than our liege King Hogsett himself.
The ILEA is just another supermajority making decisions for Hoosiers: 6 of the 9 positions are individuals with deep ties to the charter industry and every reason to sell out our city’s public education system.
Hogsett has personally appointed:
- Himself as Chair: Having also presided over multiple sexual harassment coverups, backroom big-money fundraising meetings, and his “Office of Education Innovation,” which treats education like some kind of tech bro’s startup
- Bart Peterson, Former Mayor: Father of Indianapolis’ charter school disaster, one of the most pro-charter Democrats in the nation, and founder of The Mind Trust
- Maggie Lewis, City Councilor: One of three Democratic City Councillors to urge IPS to give away even more of the public’s resources to privately-run charter schools, and board member of The Mind Trust
- Tobin McClamroch, Marian University: Former Republican Majority Leader of City Council and chair of the board trustees at Marian University, one of the largest charter authorizers
- Angela Smith-Jones, Indiana University: Former appointee of Hogsett.
Two other board members, while doing great work in the community through the organizations they lead, are also intimately tied to the charter industry:
- Andrew Neal: Married to the Director of Operations of The Mind Trust
- Barato Britt: On the board of KIPP schools, a network of charter schools founded by Reid Litwack, who recently wrote a “Let IPS Die” op-ed in the IndyStar
The deck is stacked. No recommendations coming out of this body can pretend to be fair.
We demand:
- All ILEA meetings be open to the public, in-person and live-streamed.
- No more resources taken from already underfunded public schools that are providing many more services and operate with much more accountability. Charter schools are already funded through grants from taxpayer money and their big moneyed backers like Reed Hastings and Sam Walton could chip in directly for anything else.
- Resignations of all members with connections to the charter school industry.
- Moratorium on all new charter schools.
- Completely independent feasibility study of existing charter schools.
Ultimately, Central Indiana DSA’s Fully Funded, Fully Public Campaign demands:
- The dissolution of the so-called “Office of Education Innovation.” Use the resources supporting this pro-charter project to fund early childhood education and tutoring programs for IPS students.
- Full unionization of all schools taking ANY public money be it through direct allocation, building/transportation resources, or vouchers.
- All charters be subsumed under their democratically-elected public school district boards, or become fully private and take no tax money.
- A public education system that is funded completely as needed, not tied to inherently inequitable property tax dollars; and, one that is democratically governed with the highest quality critical thinking education, with students supported by abundant wraparound resources.
Now, it’s up to us to use people power to fight back against moneyed interests. Take the pledge! Demand no more cuts to public education!
To get involved find us on the web at centralindsa.org email us at fffp@centralindsa.org and check us out on social media as Central IN DSA.
Solidarity forever!
Fully Funded Fully Public Campaign
Central IN DSA