EDUCATION

IPS to terminate 23 administrators, including 15 principals

By Eric Weddle
eric.weddle@indystar.com

Indianapolis Public Schools Board voted Tuesday not to renew the contracts of 23 administrators, including 15 principals.

Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said the reason to not renew contacts for several high-profile positions — such as directors of magnet schools, Title 1 funding and elementary education — is because some are being merged with other positions and to limit the size of central management. Ferebee would not comment on the principal positions, which includes associate and assistant posts.

Since September when Ferebee began leading the district, he has repeatedly talked about his plan to shrink the size of central staff and terminate underperforming employees. Monday the Indy Chamber released a report on IPS operations and urged the district to consider trimming its staff in the wake of a significant enrollment decrease over the past decade and a $30 million deficit.

Download a copy of the non-renewal list here.

Ferebee has discussed some plans for changes in IPS academic administration. Part of that includes dividing schools into three "learning communities" overseen by academic improvement officers, who have yet to be hired.

"This is about right-sizing the district," Ferebee said Tuesday. "We may have two or three roles combined into one role."

All the schools affected by the principal terminations were graded a D or F by the state in the most recent accountability report. That includes three assistant principals at Northwest Community High School.

Annie Roof, board president, said these changes are the start of reshaping the district and more nonrenewals could be expected.

"IPS wants to be more efficient with the positions that we have, and that the right people are in the right seats," Roof said.

Susan Pattee, a teacher at Broad Ripple High School, asked the board to reconsider the terminations. She provided a petition for one principal in hopes it would sway the board.

"We urge you speak with teachers before these decisions," she said

The board voted to not renew the contacts for the 23 employees at the end of the school year. Roof said employees could apply for new positions that will become available.

Weather makeup days picked

Graduation at IPS will be moved to a new date after the board voted to add another makeup day, again pushing back the end of the school year.

Like many districts in the state, IPS has faced a week or more of closures due to extreme cold and snow so far this year.

IPS students will attend class March 25, the second day of intersession, and June 12, the new last day of school for students. The district already approved three other makeup days at a meeting last month.

IPS could have forgone adding days and instead extended school days to make up for lost instruction time..

Ferebee had said adding time to the school day would have interfered with jobs; many older IPS students work after school.

Call Star reporter Eric Weddle at (317) 444-6222. Follow him on Twitter: @ericweddle.