IPS says they don't have to sell closed school for $1, lawmaker disagrees

The Indianapolis Public Schools district wants to sell two recently closed school buildings but says they are exempt from having to sell them to charter schools for $1, citing a new provision in state law.

More than a decade ago the Indiana state legislature passed a law saying that school districts that closed buildings had to make them available to interested charter schools for $1.

In the 2023 session, legislators revised that law to force school districts that have lost at least 10% of their enrollment in the past five years to close schools with less than 60% capacity.

But lawmakers also revised the law to exempt school districts that share revenue from an operating referendum with charter schools from the $1 rule.

Citing that exemption, the IPS school board of commissioners approved the sales of the Raymond Brandes School 65 and Francis Bellamy School 102 buildings at Thursday night’s school board meeting.

The board said in a resolution approving the sales that because the district shares dollars from the 2018 operating referendum with innovation network charter school partners, the district is not subject to the $1 law.

However, Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, a co-sponsor of the bill that revised the $1 law, told IndyStar that the intent behind the change was to have school districts share a pro-rated amount of referendum dollars with all charter schools in the district if they wish to be exempt from following the $1 rule.

"I would suggest that's not the case here, and clearly it will likely be up to the Attorney General in the end," Behning said.

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In a statement from IPS Thursday night, the district said that due to the significant changes made to the $1 law in the 2023 session, district officials believe the rule does not apply to IPS.

"Our legal team will continue to engage in the analysis and implications moving forward," the statement said. The board's resolution specifically points to the section of state law that now says the $1 law does not apply to a “school corporation that distributes money that is received as part of a tax levy collected under I.C. 20-46-1 or I.C. 20-46-9 to an applicable charter school.”

The resolution also states the district will spend 30 days primarily exploring selling the buildings to a non-profit organization or transferring them to another governmental entity. If after one month no new owner has been identified, the district will pursue a private owner.

Last year the IPS school board of commissioners approved sharing part of the 2018 operating referendum dollars, which came out to about $5 million shared annually, with roughly two dozen innovation-network charter schools. The district does not share the dollars with independent charter schools.

Sharing IPS’s operating referendum dollars was a heated point of disagreement between the school district and charter school leaders in the district, so much so that it caused IPS to hit pause on trying to approve a new operating referendum rate earlier this year.

Chief operations officer for IPS William Murphy explained to commissioners at Tuesday’s board meeting that the district has been in discussions with multiple community partners and non-profits about future uses for the two buildings.

Murphy said in deciding what to do next with these buildings the district will consider community input, market possibilities such as demographic projections for the areas in which the schools sit and what is legally possible.

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“Will the area, for example, have school-aged children for the next 10 years or is it an aging community where a school may not be a viable option,” Murphy said.  

Some of the interested parties involved in the discussion have been charter schools, Murphy said, but those discussions are preliminary since IPS hasn’t had official permission from its board to dispose of the properties.

One potential charter school interested in the Raymond Brandes building on the south side was the Adelante School at Emma Donnan School 72, part of IPS’s innovation network and roughly one mile away.

Murphy said after further discussing the possibility with Adelante it was determined that the area could not sustain both schools.

One potential non-profit organization interested in the Francis Bellamy building is VOICES, which helps at-risk youth through various mental health programs, arts programming and through contracted work with the Department of Child Services.

"This space would be incredible for us to expand and deepen our impact in the community, which we currently serve over 750 families annually," Kia Wright, the co-founder of VOICES, told commissioners Thursday night.

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Raymond Brandes and Francis Bellamy on the far east side were both built in the 1960’s and had enrollments less than half their capacities when they closed.

The two schools are part of the six schools in the IPS district that were closed at the end of last school year as part of the district’s Rebuilding Stronger efforts.

Since the announcement of the closure of the school buildings, various charter school leaders have expressed interest in obtaining the buildings.

Some have filed complaints to the Attorney General’s office, saying the district violated the $1 law. The Attorney General’s office later said that IPS did not violate the law.

Contact the reporter at317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com.

This story is made possible by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education. 

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