IPS approves lease of closed school to local nonprofit amid ongoing legal battle

The Indianapolis Public Schools board of school commissioners at Thursday night's board meeting approved an agreement to lease one of their closed buildings to a local non-profit while litigation over the state’s dollar law plays out.

The IPS board unanimously approved the lease for the Indianapolis-based non-profit VOICES Corp to use the Francis Bellamy School 102 building.

IPS is able to move forward with this lease because of a clarifying statement issued by Marion Superior Court Judge Heather Welch late last month that said IPS cannot sell its closed schools but could move forward with leasing the buildings.

The lease for School 102 will run from March 1, 2024 till February 28, 2026. IPS will not charge monthly rent for the facility but VOICES Corp. will cover monthly utility fees.

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Executive director of operations for IPS Zachary Mulholland told IPS board members that the lease for school 102 is virtually the same as the two leases approved in July for the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to use Floro Torrence School 83 and George Buck School 94.

Mulholland also told board members that the district plans to continue to work with the state’s Attorney General’s office to provide a more permanent facility for VOICES and ISBVI to use.

The lease agreement also states that VOICES acknowledges that the terms of the lease may be modified or reduced as a result of the ongoing legislation between the state and IPS over the $1 law.

IPS has been in a legal battle with the state over its closed buildings and the state’s $1 law for the past four months.

After Judge Welch declared that IPS was allowed to continue with the sale of school 102, the Indiana Attorney General’s office filed for a stay which was approved.

IPS continues to assert that it should be exempt from leasing or selling their closed schools for $1 to charter schools thanks to a new exemption approved by the legislature, but the state argues that IPS doesn’t qualify for the exemption.

IPS board president Venita Moore said after the vote on Thursday that IPS is committed to reusing closed schools in a way that best serves the community.

VOICES Corp. is a youth-empowerment group that works to provide trauma-informed care and various other community services to help Indianapolis's at-risk youth and families. Given the record number of gun youth homicides this year, Moore said the board believes VOICES Corp. can help the community combat this issue.

“As a board we have called to attention this tragedy and believe that we have a role to play to be a part of a solution,” Moore said. “We believe that our young people deserve to know and feel that the adults in their life care about their future and are willing to do what it takes to be sure that they have what they need.”

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The debate over what IPS can do with buildings it no longer uses reflects a continuing debate the district faces with its many charter schools within its borders. Dozens of members from the “Better Together” campaign led by the parent advocacy group EmpowerED Families attended Thursday's night's meeting to urge increased collaboration between the district and charter schools.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and Glick Philanthropies. As part of its work in Marion County, Glick Philanthropies partners with organizations focused on closing access and achievement gaps in education. 

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