Indianapolis, IN
New board overseeing IPS and Indianapolis charter schools begins work on November referendum question
The new mayor-appointed board overseeing Indianapolis Public Schools and the city’s charter schools held its first meeting Tuesday, taking initial steps on decisions that will reshape how nearly 43,000 students are educated across the district boundary.
The Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, or IPEC, met for about an hour at the City-County Building. The meeting was largely procedural but set in motion two of the most consequential choices facing the board in its early months: whether to put a new IPS operating referendum on the November ballot and who will lead the municipal organization day-to-day.
The nine members unanimously adopted rules of procedure, named Michael O’Connor of Bose Public Affairs as acting executive director and passed a resolution authorizing a request for funds to operate, pay for staff, consultants and other expenses — the first use of IPEC’s authority to draw on property tax revenue. The board set a distribution percentage of up to 3% of local property tax revenues for IPS and charter schools, as allowed by the new state law that created the authority.
“We are building a municipal organization from scratch that has not existed anywhere else in the United States,” said David Harris, who chairs the corporation board, and was also Indianapolis’ first charter school director and founded local education reform organization The Mind Trust in 2006 “This is a big assignment for us.”
The board takes on an ambitious charge by state lawmakers: reshaping a divided education system so that every public school student in the IPS boundary has access to the same resources. Reform advocates see it as the long-sought fix to a fragmented landscape that has left charter schools without equal footing. Traditional public school supporters see it as a slow dismantling of a district already weakened by declining enrollment and a looming budget shortfall.
The multi-step process for the corporation to approve a referendum for IPS and the city charter schools would begin immediately. “How many dollars?” O’Connor said about one of the many decisions the board must make. “And how many years?”
A public hearing will be held before the board makes a decision toward the end of June. State law requires final action by Aug. 1 for a question to make it on the November ballot.
The current IPS operating referendum expires at the end of this year. IPS projects ending the year with a $40 million cash deficit. Superintendent Aleesia Johnson, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, has said the district is already cutting staff and programs.
Mayor Joe Hogsett, who also sat in the audience, said he wants to hire a permanent executive director “the sooner the better.” Hogsett will select the candidate, and the board votes on the appointment.
O’Connor said a job description will be posted as quickly as possible and that the position will draw on the duties spelled out in House Enrolled Act 1423: “building a transportation that works efficiently and effectively and serves all of our kids; building a facilities program that assures all of our children are learning in a safe and welcoming environment. And then an accountability system that represents the needs of all of our kids is developed and then maintained.”
The salary range will be “both competitive and appropriate for the job of this nature,” he added.
O’Connor said he will stand up three working groups in the coming days — on the referendum, on staffing and finance, and on the accountability framework IPEC owes the legislature in a preliminary report due in August. IPS School Board members Ashely Thomas and board member Hope Duke Star pressed for parents and outside experts to be included in those groups.
In addition to Harris, president and CEO of Christel House International, the board includes other charter school leaders: Janet McNeal, president of Herron Classical Schools; Dexter Taylor, director at Paramount Brookside; and Edward Rangel, founding CEO of Adelante Schools.
A website for IPEC could be online as soon as Wednesday at indianapolispubliceducationcorporation.org, with board contact information, documents and meeting details. The domain will eventually shift to .gov.
O’Connor said public comment will be taken at meetings where decisions are made on taxes and budgets. The board’s next meeting is May 28.
Eric Weddle is WFYI’s education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.
Trump repeals landmark EPA climate endangerment finding
President Trump’s repeal of the endangerment finding eliminates the legal basis for regulations that target air pollution from greenhouse gases.
Indianapolis and the surrounding metropolitan area failed a number of critical air pollution measures in the American Lung Association’s latest State of the Air report.
The ALA’s annual nationwide report published each spring gives the Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie metro area an “F” in smog and soot pollution. The report analyzes emissions data over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024.
Smog is ground-level ozone pollution and soot is particulate matter. The two comprise two of the six commonly found air pollutants in the United States according to the EPA.
Both pollutants form in part when coal-fired power plants and diesel engines burn fossil fuels. Smog and soot can cause premature death and other serious health hazards such as heart attacks, strokes, preterm births, asthma and cognitive decline, according to the ALA.
The lung health report ranks the central Indiana metro area in a number of categories with the region performing poorly in most. Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie ranked the 11th most polluted area for year-round particle pollution and 14th for short-term particle pollution.
Indiana children at risk from air pollution
And the rest of the state fares little better.
More than 670,000 Hoosier children breath unhealthy levels of air pollution, the report says.
This year’s report focus on the risk to youth that polluted air can pose. Small lungs are particularly vulnerable, said Tiffany Nichols, ALA director of advocacy.
“Infants, children and teens have lungs that are still developing, which makes them more susceptible to the impacts of unhealthy air,” Nichols said.
To prevent today’s youth from developing diseases related to polluted air, the American Lung Association has been asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stop rolling back clean air rules put in place by previous administrations. The Indiana chapter has also asked state lawmakers to take steps to protect air quality.
Nichols grew up on the northwest side of Indy where the neighborhoods had been demolished to build I-65. Nearby trees were torn down to make way for the highway that would bring cars and trucks emitting harmful exhaust.
“So, then you have these areas that are essentially like a pocket of unhealthy air, and then those neighborhoods also had a lot of factories,” Nichols said. “That exacerbated health conditions in many of those communities that are oftentimes less fortunate already.”
Data centers and rollbacks
While air pollutants have existed for centuries, the rise of data centers poses a new threat. State and local lawmakers, Nichols said, should also pay attention to these new potential sources of pollution both in Indiana and across the country.
“We’re asking that those companies that are interested in putting data centers in communities work with the local community,” Nichols said. “Since data centers have the potential to be another source of pollution we also ask that they use renewable, zero-ignition energy sources.”
The ALA report also urges the U.S. EPA to recommit to protecting people’s health from harmful air pollution.
This year, the EPA has gone on what Administrator Lee Zeldin has characterized as a deregulation campaign that environmental advocates in Indiana have charged will lead to “death by 1,000 cuts.”
The current EPA, the American Lung Association report says, has “retreated from its public health foundation by rolling back clean air protections.”
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk or BlueSky @karlstartswithk.bsky.social.
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Eagle Food & Beer Hall, a Southern-inspired restaurant at 310 Massachusetts Ave. in Indianapolis, is preparing for a Kentucky Derby party on May 2 and promoting a catering deal alongside its signature menu items.
The restaurant is known for its all-natural, brined and hand-dredged fried chicken, comfort-food sides, craft beer selection, scratch-made cocktails, and a blues-inspired atmosphere. It is part of Cincinnati-based Thunderdome Restaurant Group, which operates nine concepts across more than 50 locations nationwide.
Ricky Tindell, regional managing partner for Thunderdome Restaurant Group, highlighted the restaurant’s catering services and upcoming events. He said catering orders range from small gatherings to large events.
“We do a lot of catering. We do it anywhere from six people all the way up to 400,” Tindell said. He added that customers can take advantage of a promotion offering a $25 rebate on orders of $250 or more through July 4, 2026.
Tindell also described the preparation of The Eagle’s fried chicken, which is brined in-house for 24 to 36 hours, double-dredged, and pressure-fried. He said the restaurant uses a proprietary seasoning blend.
He also discussed the Mac and Cheese Burnt Ends Bowl, a popular menu item made with a five-cheese sauce, cavatappi pasta, pork burnt ends, lemon thyme ranch, crispy onions, and chives. Tindell said the dish developed from customer preferences and repeated add-ons to the restaurant’s mac and cheese.
He said the burnt ends are slow-roasted for two hours, deep-fried, and tossed in a Texas-style barbecue sauce. Portions are designed to be shareable for two to three people.
Tindell said the restaurant’s appeal in Indianapolis comes from its Southern comfort food offerings.
“It’s Southern comfort food. So people get that feeling,” Tindell said. “That’s why The Eagle is one of the top four or five reasons people recommend when asked where to eat in Indianapolis.”
He added that he personally craves the chicken if he goes a week without it.
The Kentucky Derby party is scheduled for May 2 from 11 a.m. to midnight and will feature contests, prizes, and giveaways, including a “Win the Eagle for a Year” promotion offering a $50 monthly gift card for 12 months.
The catering promotion, offering a $25 rebate on orders of $250 or more, is available through July 4, 2026.. For more information, visit eaglerestaurant.com/locations.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat representing Indianapolis, has announced her candidacy for a bid to run for mayor of Indianapolis in 2027.
Hunley, who had previously teased a mayoral run, has scheduled a launch event for May 8 as her official kickoff her campaign to lead the city, said her campaign website. The Assistant Minority Leader in the Senate announced in January that she would not seek another term in the Indiana Senate, to which she was elected in 2022.
Hunley’s website says, “Indianapolis is my city. Our city. As someone who knows this city, someone who has served this community as a public school teacher leading our children and supporting families, I am committed to the future of the people of Indianapolis.
“Indianapolis is the economic driver and a key cultural hub for our state. Our city boasts creative entrepreneurs and long-standing local businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and corporate headquarters, community-centered nonprofits and public schools. I aim to champion a better quality of life by listening to and working alongside the people, businesses and neighborhoods that make up our great city.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett has not disclosed if he’s seeking a fourth four-year term.
City-County Council Member Vop Osili in January announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In the same month, Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination to run for mayor. She’s running this year to continue in the trustee’s job, which she has held since 2019.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who had been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for mayor, announced in January he would seek another four-year term this year for his current job. However, he did not rule out running for the Democratic bid for mayor in 2027.
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