The Indianapolis City Council Education Committee heard a progress report on the Indiana Local Education Alliance on Nov. 4, as the advisory panel prepares recommendations to the state on school governance, facilities, transportation and accountability.

Michael O'Connor, the presenter to the committee, outlined the ILEA's work to date, saying the alliance has held five public meetings, collected more than six hours of public comment and made extensive materials available electronically. He told the committee the alliance will submit recommendations to the legislative council and the state superintendent by Dec. 31, 2025.

"In '27, IPS loses about $40,000,000 if they don't go forward with another referendum on an annual basis in operating revenue," O'Connor said, summarizing the ILEA's school-finance review and the referendum timing that local officials face.

The presentation covered several topics the ILEA examined in depth: how referenda affect operating revenue, the implications of recent state law changes on property-tax sharing with charter schools, differing facility-management arrangements across traditional and charter-operated schools, and a range of transportation models used by other districts. O'Connor said the group studied examples including Washington, D.C., and Denver to compare mayoral-led and school-board-centered governance models.

Committee members focused questions on community engagement, charter authorizing authority, transportation coordination and facility use. Councilor Carlos Perkins said he supports limiting charter authorizing authority to entities based in Marion County, stating, "only entities in Marion County should be able to charter schools in Marion County." Perkins urged that the ILEA recommendations reflect local control.

A councilor who identified concerns about multiple external authorizers argued that accountability is harder to achieve when authorizers operate outside the county, saying (as recorded in the meeting), that if accountability should rest with the mayor, "the mayor should have accountability period." Several councilors cautioned that proposals such as shrinking IPS boundaries would be politically sensitive and could shift costs to townships.

O'Connor said the ILEA has divided its work into two task forces—transportation and facilities—to develop options and that the alliance is advisory: any legislative implementation would come through the legislative council and the General Assembly. During the meeting he also said the alliance itself would cease after delivering recommendations; the transcript includes the statement, "Goes away as of December 3." The presenter also reiterated the formal reporting deadline of Dec. 31 for recommendations to the legislature.

Members raised equity concerns tied to historical governance choices and Unigov, warning that proposed changes to funding formulas, facility management or transportation could have uneven effects across neighborhoods. Perkins urged committee members to expect recommendations that could alter funding distribution between traditional public schools and charter operators.

The committee did not take any votes. Chair Jessica McCormack thanked the presenter and adjourned the meeting. The ILEA is expected to finalize and transmit its recommendations to the legislative council and the state superintendent by the end of December 2025, after which any change would require legislative action.

Sources: Presentation and Q&A at the Nov. 4 Education Committee meeting; materials provided to committee members by the ILEA (as described in the meeting).