Two top leaders at Irvington Community Schools have announced their resignations as the Indianapolis charter network scrambles to close a $2.85 million deficit, and so many teachers called off work in an apparent protest that the network canceled classes at its elementary, middle and high schools on Thursday. The shakeup comes just weeks before the network faces a renewal decision that could determine its future.
Irvington Preparatory Academy principal Jana Goebel, who has worked at the school for 15 years, announced her resignation effective at the end of November, according to WFYI. Shannon Williams, the network's director of special education, also announced she is stepping down. The two departures came the same day the governing board met Wednesday in Indianapolis, where staff protested budget cuts and what they described as a lack of financial transparency.
Williams cited concern that the cuts could prevent legally required services for students with disabilities from being delivered, and said she worried about students losing services while remaining staff become overworked, the outlet reported. Recent cuts have already eliminated two instructional assistant positions and a speech therapy assistant. Goebel, for her part, said school leaders had urged the board to delay its CEO search because the network's finances were precarious — a claim the governing board did not address during Wednesday's meeting, per the same account.
How the Deficit Piled Up
Irvington Community Schools, one of Indianapolis's oldest charter networks, ended the 2025-26 school year with the $2.85 million deficit after enrollment came in well below projections. The network enrolled 710 students this year, compared with the 817 it had budgeted for, forcing a 6% budget cut of roughly $700,000. CEO Rachel Maldonado said the shortfall still must be closed.
To close the gap, the network has carried out two rounds of layoffs affecting about 10 people, according to Maldonado, and paused contracted substitute teaching services. The governing board also voted to pause contributions to staff retirement plans, a move that reportedly prompted one teacher to walk out in protest during Wednesday's meeting. Staff also questioned whether paid time off might need to be surrendered now that substitute services have been cut, and asked whether the middle school building might be offered for sale to another charter operator.
Maldonado told WFYI the network is not considering selling a building. She said she is working to make the network solvent and asked staff for patience. The governing board voted Wednesday to grant Maldonado authority to explore every opportunity to close the deficit. Board member Madison Monfreda, a school alumna, said the board's decisions were not made lightly.
Cash Reserves Fall Short of Authorizer's Standard
The network reported about 28 days' worth of cash on hand in September, below the 45 days the mayor's office considers its standard. The Mayor's Office of Education Innovation placed Irvington Community Schools on a Level 1 Notice of Deficiency in June over financial reporting concerns, then escalated that notice to Level 3 in October due to concerns about the network's financial sustainability, according to Shaina Cavazos, the office's executive director. Cavazos said the office aims to work with the school to ensure it can continue.
The network now faces a renewal decision from the mayor's charter school authorization office in December. Charter schools are tuition-free public schools that are privately managed by nonprofit boards rather than elected officials, which places oversight of decisions like this one with the mayor's authorization office rather than a school board. A separate sustainability plan reported in September included cutting programs like prekindergarten and their staffs, and seeking alternative funding sources such as grants, the outlet noted.
A Network Already Under Strain
This is not the network's first brush with governance turmoil. Last year, the governing board restarted its CEO search after public protests over a potential candidate who chaired the board at the time — dozens of students, staff and parents gathered outside Irvington Preparatory Academy in August 2025 to demand a different choice, and the board announced the following day it was reopening the search. Weeks later, board chair Rashay Foster resigned and the board voted to remove member Ashli Adams amid criticism over how the search had been handled, according to Chalkbeat Indiana.
Financial concerns at Irvington Community Schools are not entirely new either. A Fall 2022 renewal report from the Mayor's Office of Education Innovation rated the network's long-term financial health as Approaching Standard, even as its overall short-term fiscal-health rating across the charter term landed at Meets Standard. That same report noted the network began its second charter term on a Level II Notice of Deficiency tied to a decline in board membership and concerns over the school's financial health — a reminder that stabilizing both its books and its leadership has been a recurring challenge for the East Side network.
