IPS board votes to appeal state funding decision - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Indianapolis Public Schools will appeal a state decision about funding for the school district.

In a release, IPS says the school board voted unanimously Monday to appeal a May 11 order by the Department of Education to withhold $13.9 million in tuition funds from the district.

As part of DOE's order, that money will flow to two special management groups that will oversee Emma Donnan Middle School, and Emmerich Manual, Thomas Carr Howe and Arlington High Schools. 

Those groups will benefit by more than $5 million that should stay within IPS, asserts IPS Superintendent Eugene G. White.

"The State Board of Education wants to use the September 2011 enrollment of these four schools as the basis for funding," said White. "At that time, there were 3,810 students at the schools.  Today, only 2,138 students have either selected to attend a turnaround academy in 2012-13 or have defaulted to the turnaround academy because they did not choose to attend either IPS or the turnaround."

"Based on IPS' current per-pupil funding of $7,331, the turnaround operators should only receive $7.8 million in state tuition support," said White.

IPS argues that tuition support should be recalculated in September 2012, using the actual number of students attending the turnaround schools. In Indiana, schools are funded based on the enrollment - or Average Daily Membership - on the second Friday in September after Labor Day.