Indianapolis voters decide Tuesday whether to approve a $95 million-a-year property tax for public schools. If they say no, the state could step in to manage the district’s finances, and the cuts would be about twice as deep.
The measure matters to Black families on both sides of the city’s school divide. State data compiled by The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis education nonprofit, counts 20,180 Black students in schools within Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) boundaries in 2025-26. Of those, 6,619 attend schools IPS runs. Another 13,561 attend charter and innovation schools, more than twice as many. The money would go to both: roughly half to IPS, half to about 60 participating charters.
Karega Rausch, executive director of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation (IPEC), the new body that took over the district’s taxing powers and now oversees traditional and charter schools, told his board Thursday that “there are serious consequences if the referendum is not successful.” IPEC approved its first budget, $3.2 million, at the same meeting. Rausch said “not a dime” of the referendum money goes to IPEC itself.
What the money pays for
The tax would be 37 cents per $100 of assessed value for four years. The ballot language puts the increase at $221 a year on a $150,000 home. Because an earlier referendum from 2018 is expiring, Chalkbeat Indiana estimates the real increase for a typical homeowner at about $100 in 2027.
About $63 million a year would pay for programming, including special education and English learner services. About $32 million would go to keeping teachers and training them.
The cuts either way
IPS expects to cut about $20 million even if the measure passes. If it fails, the district projects cuts of $40 million to $45 million. Superintendent Aleesia Johnson has called the revenue “absolutely necessary for our district’s financial survival.” Under a failed vote, appointed managers could take over the district’s finances.
School board member Patricia Castañeda said: “Having the state take over our local public education system is not a good idea for our children, our families, or for our communities.”
The measure does not have everyone’s support. The Indianapolis Education Association, the teachers union, voted against it because IPS would still have to make cuts if it passes.
The vote comes after a hard year for the district. IPS lost 1,281 students, 6%, in 2025-26, its steepest single-year drop since the pandemic, according to state records reported by WFYI. State funding follows enrollment.
Only voters inside IPS boundaries can cast a ballot. Early voting at the City-County Building runs through Monday, and Election Day is Nov. 3. IPEC says it will release a tool to track how referendum dollars are spent across IPS and the charters if the measure passes.
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