Political action committees contributed more than $150,000 to candidates seeking five Indianapolis Public Schools board seats ahead of the Nov. 3 election, according to pre-election campaign finance reports.
Stand for Children Indiana's PAC contributed more than $117,000. RISE Indy gave $24,200, and the Indiana Political Action Committee for Education, the political arm of the state teachers union, contributed $15,500. Candidates collectively raised more than $257,000 during the reporting period, from April 11 through Oct. 9, including cash and in-kind support such as staff time, advertising and campaign services.
The election will decide five seats and determine the majority of the seven-member board. A new state law gives the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation control over school buildings, transportation and the ability to raise taxes, while the board continues to oversee academics and the superintendent and will follow some directives from the corporation, which will establish an accountability system.
The shift has not made the election less important to the groups backing candidates. The Indianapolis Education Association's vice president, Monica Shellhamer, said the union wants to change the board's majority and has supported candidates who favor traditional public schools, and the union has also opposed transferring district authority to the new corporation.
The 2026 contest is the first in which IPS school board candidates are running in partisan races, though no candidate received backing from a political party or its PAC, according to the reporting. Final campaign finance reports covering activity through the end of 2026 are due Jan. 20, 2027.
