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Mayor Joe Hogsett along with the Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson and the IPS school board announced the members of the new Indianapolis Local Education Alliance on Friday.
The nine-member board, led by Hogsett, was created by lawmakers in this year’s legislative session and is tasked with examining the potential for IPS and charters to share buses and buildings as well as other “topics such as governance structure and increasing efficiency.”
“The goal of the alliance is to deepen collaboration across traditional public and public charter schools and support a strong academic experience for all students,” per the announcement from Hogsett’s office.
The creation of the board occurred during a legislative session that also included a proposal to dissolve IPS and replace it with charters that ultimately failed, and a successful plan to redirect some property tax revenue from IPS to charters.
According to the announcement, the Indianapolis Local Education Alliance members — in addition to Hogsett and Johnson — are:
- Bart Peterson, former mayor; former CEO of Christel House International; former senior vice president of corporate affairs and communication for Eli Lilly and Company (mayoral appointee).
- Maggie Lewis, majority leader of Indianapolis City-County Council; CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis (mayoral appointee).
- Angela Smith-Jones, associate vice president for state relations, Indiana University; former deputy mayor of economic development; former general counsel for the Indy Chamber (mayoral appointee).
- Tobin McClamroch, managing partner, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum; chair of the Marian University Board of Trustees, (mayoral appointee).
- Barato Britt, President/CEO, Edna Martin Christian Center (IPS Board President appointee).
- Tina Ahlgren, teacher, H.L. Harshman Middle School; Hoosier Educator of the Year, 2024; IPS Teacher of the Year, 2014 (IPS district-managed school parent appointee).
- Andrew Neal, CEO, Outreach Indiana; former Chief Operating Officer, Brookside Community Development Corporation (IPS innovation school parent appointee).
The group is not subject to the state’s open meetings law.
Hogsett called the members “accomplished civic leaders” and said he’s confident the group “will create a plan that ensures a stable, sustainable and collaborative path forward for our schools.”
Johnson added that the ILEA is an “opportunity to hear the diverse perspectives” of Indianapolis leaders as they create recommendations about the future of the city’s schools.
“We remain committed to advocating for our families, students, and staff throughout the course of our engagement with the ILEA,” she said in the release.
The organization is required to meet for the first time before July 1 and details about the meetings will be shared “in the coming weeks,” per the mayor’s office.
The announcement also noted that “opportunities for public comment and community input will be made available.”
The ILEA must submit recommendations to the state education secretary and legislators for consideration by the end of the year. The Friday announcement also noted that the group will report back to the city and district.
MJ Slaby oversees Chalkbeat Indiana’s coverage as bureau chief. Contact MJ at mslaby@chalkbeat.org.
