Mayor approves new charter schools-WEB ONLY

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard approved two new charter schools this morning, bucking calls by some to halt expansion of the taxpayer-funded schools.

The new schools are the Indiana Aerospace Junior-Senior High School and the Paramount School of Excellence.

In addition, Ballard assumed oversight of the Irvington Community School, an Indianapolis charter school that had previously been sponsored by Ball State University.

The new schools bring to 21 the total number of charter schools sponsored by the mayor’s office. Another four in Indianapolis are sponsored by Ball State.

“It is critically important that entrepreneurial reformers like these continue to be given the opportunity to re-make public education,” Ballard said in a statement.

The Indiana Aerospace school plans to locate at the Indianapolis Aviation Technology Center at the Indianapolis International Airport. It will accept about 70 seventh graders for the 2010 school year.

The Paramount School wants to enroll 465 students in kindergarten though fifth grade for the school year beginning in fall 2010. The school plans to locate at 3020 Nowland Ave., near Brookside Park.

The Irvington Community School has its high school campus at 6040 E. Pleasant Run Parkway, South Drive. Its elementary school campus is at 6705 E. Julian Ave.

Democrats in the Indiana General Assembly pushed for a moratorium on new charter schools, but backed off at the end of the session. No decisions were made on future charter school funding as the Legislature failed to adopt a budget.

Also, Eugene White, superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, has repeated his calls to stop adding charter schools, saying traditional public schools have responded to charters with numerous innovations of their own.

But Ballard’s office cited survey data that found charter schools receive broad support from central Indiana residents, especially among minority and low-income groups.

Both charters and traditional public schools receive funding from the state for each student they enroll. Traditional public schools also receive money for transportation and buildings, which charter schools do not.
Charter schools are free from some traditional public school restrictions. And no charters in Indiana have teachers unions.

Applications for new charters were evaluated by the Indianapolis Charter School Board, headed by former Lt. Gov. John Mutz.