Indianapolis councilors still considering new city education fund

INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Ideas for a new city education fund are still in the works.

Councilor Keith Graves, chair of the City-County Council’s Education Committee, told Mirror Indy after a public meeting March 4 that despite not making the committee’s agenda this month, proposals for the fund are still being worked on.

“To get full buy-in from our education community, from our colleagues on the council and from our constituency, it has to be well produced,” said Graves, an eastside Democrat.

He did not say when he expects a completed proposal to come back before the council.

“It’s not something we can do haphazardly,” Graves said. “We’re not in a rush, because we want a great product.”

Two visions for city education fund

Earlier this year, councilors considered two proposals for a new fund that would capture money from private developers seeking public funding and put it toward public school education.

One proposal, sponsored by Graves, sought to create a grant fund overseen by a committee of council and mayoral appointees. But, councilors in late January voted against this proposal.

Graves said at the time that his proposal didn’t go far enough to help kids and that he expected a new proposal to be introduced this month.

A draft of that proposal, provided to Mirror Indy by another councilor, suggested a different kind of fund that would give money directly to families.

It also proposed giving two oversight committee seats to representatives selected by RISE INDY, a nonprofit with a history of support for local charter schools.

City effort comes amid broader funding debate

The nonprofit said at the time that it looked forward to working with Graves and other councilors on the new proposal.

But, RISE INDY has since found itself at the center of a broader debate as lawmakers consider a polarizing bill that would push some property tax money away from traditional public school districts and into nearby charter schools.

Three people in the council’s education committee meeting March 4 carried signs reading, “Fully Funded Fully Public” and “No education slush funds.” The Central Indiana AFL-CIO has also launched a campaign opposing the fund. Its online petition has collected 800 letters.

And the meeting came a day after about 40 people marched to the City-County Building in support of Councilor Jesse Brown, who has spoken critically of RISE INDY and was recently expelled from the city’s Democratic caucus.

Graves told Mirror Indy after the meeting that the timing of councilors’ proposals was unrelated to the larger conversation about public school funding. He said RISE INDY has been “extremely helpful” but not necessarily a partner in the city’s education fund effort.

A RISE INDY spokesperson also addressed the effort in a statement provided to Mirror Indy.

“We trust city-county councilors to determine the best path forward to get resources to high-needs families in public schools across this city,” the statement reads.

The council’s education committee is scheduled to meet next on April 8.

Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.