Election 2024: What candidates for IPS school board said about charter schools, literacy and more

The district’s sweeping reorganization plan and the influence of outside groups loomed large over Tuesday night’s forum featuring candidates for the Indianapolis Public Schools board. All eight candidates for four seats on the IPS Board of School Commissioners, attended the forum at the Indianapolis Public Library’s Central Library. The event was co-hosted by Chalkbeat Indiana and WFYI. Races for District 1, District 2 and an at-large seat are contested. The candidate for District 4, Allissa Impink, is unopposed. At-large board member Kenneth Allen is the only candidate seeking reelection. He is being challenged by Carrie Harris and Deandra Thompson. The race for District 1 is between Alan Schoff and Ashley Thomas. Former board member Gayle Cosby is in the District 2 race against Hasaan Rashid. This election season comes as IPS continues the rollout of Rebuilding Stronger that’s designed to overhaul the district in response to enrollment pressures and an increasingly competitive school choice landscape. The district is also trying to improve student academic performance following the pandemic. Asked to assign a letter grade to Rebuilding Stronger so far, several candidates said it was too soon to tell. The candidates did seem to agree that while the plan was a...