https://progressiveindiana.net
SUMMARY:
Pastor Greene is back after several weeks away, and he and Rev. Tony Alexander spend a dense hour on Indiana’s education crisis — framing it as the convergence of federal gutting, state Republican policy, and local structural power grabs. The show opens with a brief update on the Dalys Jett case: as of airtime, the family was scheduled to view the body-worn camera footage that evening at 5:30 p.m., nearly three weeks after the July 22nd officer-involved shooting. The education segment anchors on two interlocking crises: 38 Indiana school districts seeking November referendums for operating funds they can no longer sustain after Governor Braun’s property tax restructuring, and the IPEC (Indianapolis Public Education Corporation) — the appointed, mayor-aligned body now controlling IPS — whose first executive director, Karega Rausch, has been largely invisible in the push to pass a $95 million November referendum. The hosts track IPS’s enrollment collapse from over 100,000 students in Amos Brown’s era to just over 30,000 today as a measure of the district’s dismantling in real time. Caller Imhotep connects underfunding of education to corporate tax avoidance, declining school lunch quality, and the ongoing stadium-subsidy dynamic — asking why the Chicago Bears owners might receive $2 billion in public support while children’s lunch trays go bare. Caller Guy asks the Concerned Clergy to host a community forum featuring former IPS superintendent Dr. Eugene White and other education advocates before the November election. Caller Pat frames the education crisis as deliberate racial suppression. Caller Mayhem closes with a sharp critique of voter complacency and political celebrity culture. Both hosts close on the need for constituents to know their local elected officials — and to know that those officials may no longer actually control the decisions that matter.
WHAT’S INSIDE
00:00:00 Station ID and program open
- Pastor Greene back after several weeks away; opens in prayer for storm-affected families.
- Rev. Alexander previews the agenda: education dominates, with 38 referendums on the November ballot and IPS governance in flux.
00:03:25 Dalys Jett update — body cam viewing scheduled for tonight
- Rev. Alexander recaps last week’s guest, Rev. Davanta Scruggs , representing the family of Dalys Jett, killed in an officer-involved shooting on July 22nd.
- As of tonight, the family was scheduled to view the raw body-worn camera footage at 5:30 p.m. — a viewing that had been previously delayed because the injured officer had not yet given her statement.
- Rev. Alexander: hoping the meeting happened; no statements yet as of airtime.
- Both hosts: continuing to pray for the Jett family and for the injured IMPD officers who are recovering.
00:05:42 IPS at 30,000 — the enrollment collapse and what it means
- IPS is the largest school district in Indiana, but that designation now means something very different than it once did.
- When Amos Brown was regularly invoking IPS’s size to demand resources, the district served over 100,000 students. It now serves just over 30,000.
- That enrollment collapse is the direct result of the dismantling Rev. Alexander and Pastor Greene have been documenting for years — through charter expansion, neighborhood disinvestment, and policy choices.
- The appointed IPEC board — which reports to the mayor, not to voters — will now be responsible for deciding which IPS school buildings get sold, to whom, and for how much. Taxpayers who funded those buildings for decades have no direct vote in that process.
00:09:19 38 referendums — the statewide school funding crisis
- 38 Indiana school districts are bringing referendums to voters in November, seeking operating funds they can no longer sustain after Governor Braun’s property tax restructuring redirected school funding.
- The crisis is statewide — not just Indianapolis. Rural and suburban districts, including some in Hamilton County and Zionsville, are in the same position.
- Programs at immediate risk if referendums fail: sports, transportation, band, arts, counselors, teaching staff. Sports in particular serve a dual function — academic motivation and an outlet that reduces classroom disruption.
- By 2028, even more districts will face referendums; some are relying on a surplus that won’t last.
00:15:04 The compounding cost squeeze — wheel tax, AES, and referendum fatigue
- Pastor Greene: voting against a school referendum doesn’t mean someone is anti-education. It may mean they’re already drowning in compounding costs.
- Marion County just passed a new wheel tax. AES Indiana rates went up this year and go up again in January. Each increase is marketed individually as modest — but together they represent $600 or more per household in new annual costs.
- A family already stretched by AES increases and the wheel tax may support education but simply not be able to vote for more money. That context needs to be part of the conversation.
- Pastor Greene: school districts need to be doing community meetings now — not waiting until October to ask people to vote on something they don’t understand.
00:20:07 IPEC and the invisible referendum campaign
- Rev. Alexander raises the critical question: who is the public face of the IPS referendum? Because the answer appears to be nobody.
- Karega Rausch, IPEC’s first executive director, is not visibly campaigning for the referendum. IPS superintendent Alicia Johnson is not visibly campaigning. Interim director Michael O’Connor is not visibly campaigning.
- Pastor Greene: this may be intentional. Nobody wants to stand up and say “trust the seven appointed people we put in charge — give them $95 million.” Because that’s a hard sell.
- The deeper question: is the referendum supposed to pass? Or is a quiet, soft campaign that ends in a failed referendum the actual plan — paving the way for a state takeover of IPS?
- Pastor Greene: IPEC was created over the community’s objection. He and Rev. Alexander were both at the city-county building protesting. The community said no; the process went forward anyway — just like the data center moratorium vote.
00:29:13 Caller Imhotep — crony capitalism, school lunches, and the McCaskeys
- Imhotep (turning 60 in October, political science minor) frames the education funding crisis as structural: crony capitalism — socialism for the rich, rugged individualism for everyone else.
- Only 56% of Americans read at a sixth-grade level; most don’t understand the systems well enough to recognize how they’re being exploited.
- The corporate tax avoidance angle: Meta, Google, NVIDIA all use offshore sites to minimize federal taxes, while states hand them whatever incentives they want. Meanwhile, education claws for every dollar.
- The Chicago Bears stadium discussion: we still haven’t finished paying bonds on the RCA Dome (long demolished) or Lucas Oil Stadium — where the namesake contributed roughly $10 million of a $700 million facility. Now there’s talk of giving the McCaskey family (Chicago Bears owners) $2 billion in public money. Yet education has to fight for every penny.
- School lunches: Imhotep reports hearing from young people that school lunches have looked paltry since the start of the year — a consequence of USDA program cuts under the Trump administration.
- His closing argument: until corporations pay their fair share of taxes into the general fund, education will keep getting squeezed.
00:28:41 Follow-up — private money and ballpark projects
- Rev. Alexander: Trump always claims to find private money for his pet projects. Somehow that money flows freely for ballparks and lawn projects, but not for education.
00:29:13 Caller Guy — spotlight Dr. Eugene White; host a community forum
- Guy invokes former IPS superintendent Dr. Eugene White as a community resource who knows where the money goes and has the students’ interests at heart.
- He notes a school board election is also on the November 3rd ballot — most people don’t know how many candidates are running or which districts are open.
- His ask: the Concerned Clergy should host a community forum before November featuring Dr. Eugene White, Imhotep, and other education advocates. The Concerned Clergy used to be all over these kinds of issues.
- Pastor Greene responds: he knows Dr. White well and can make that happen. The real challenge is getting people to show up — they’re at the cigar bar or on TikTok. The Concerned Clergy is not against a forum; the question is whether the community will come.
- He also reminds listeners: a school board election won’t change much, because IPEC — not the elected board — makes the real decisions now. Strategy has to target IPEC accountability, not just school board races.
00:37:20 Caller Pat — deliberate suppression, not neglect
- Pat argues the education crisis is not accidental — it’s a well-planned tactic. Deny education, health, and housing, and you choke the light out of a people.
- The only Black students this administration cares about are those who can generate revenue — athletes being scouted for professional leagues.
- Her call to action: stop being lackadaisical. Mobilize, organize, vote.
- Pastor Greene: Ms. Pat is 100% right. Private schools don’t track their students into trades. They provide broad exposure. That’s by design — the tracking is for public school students, not for those whose parents can pay.
- The cycle: undereducated people don’t vote. Voter suppression is therefore self-reinforcing. The appointed board, disappearing judges, disappearing school boards — it only happens where Black people are. Kokomo and Lafayette still have elected school boards.
00:45:48 Caller Mayhem — voter complacency and political celebrity
- Mayhem argues the problem is bigger than education: voters have made celebrities out of politicians instead of treating them as employees.
- Indianapolis City-County Council “misleadership” has been given a blank check because voters don’t hold them accountable.
- Amos Brown was silenced for talking about education and for talking about the Black Expo — a warning about what happens to voices that push back.
- His bottom line: we’re partly to blame. We worship politicians who run us instead of running them.
- Rev. Alexander and Pastor Greene agree: constituents who don’t know who their city-county councilor or state rep is cannot hold anyone accountable. You have to know who they are and how they voted before you can demand anything.
- Pastor Greene closes with the Ron Gibson/data center example: if your councilor voted for data centers over community objection, do you still vote for them because they send the most mailers? That’s the problem.
00:50:45 Program close
- Rev. Alexander: folks need to take heed. Know your elected officials. Know how they vote. Then hold them accountable.
- Both hosts sign off with a blessing for the week.
