For
Me,
Not
For
Thee
Elite schools for their kids. Empty promises for ours.
This website shines a spotlight on politicians whose personal educational choices for themselves and their families conflict with their opposition to charter school and other education choice policies, raising questions about their commitment to equitable education for all.
It serves as a resource for citizens to understand the true priorities of their representatives. Contact us through the form below if you have any tips on other hypocritical politicians that we should highlight.
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Hypocrite Highlights
Christina Smith— a card-carrying member of the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America—got herself arrested at the State House for disorderly conduct.
Rocking a Red for Ed crewneck, no less.
She spent the night in jail.
Two days later?
She’s at the IPS school board meeting—fresh-faced and shameless—in the exact same shirt, now speaking on behalf of the Indianapolis Education Association, the teachers union.
She declared:
“Tonight I’m here to support the Indianapolis Education Association’s demand for a moratorium on new and expanding charter contracts.”
So which is it, Chrissy?
Are you a DSA mouthpiece or a union messenger?
Because either way, you’re not a parent who sends her kids to IPS.
She’s on record saying she pulled them out of public school and placed them in charters:
So let’s recap. Christina Smith:
● Gets cuffed repping the Democratic Socialists of America
● Spends the night in jail
● Marches into an IPS meeting on behalf of the union
● Pushes a charter moratorium
● Sends her own kids to the very schools she wants banned for yours
What are we doing?
Why are we handing the mic to people who wouldn’t dare live by the policies they promote?
Why is the teachers union using Christina Smith as a messenger—someone who won’t even let her own kids be part of the system she’s supposedly fighting to protect?
She’s not an elected official.
She’s not even an IPS parent anymore.
She’s just someone loud enough, funded enough, and shameless enough to count on no one connecting the dots.
So we did.
“Indianapolis Public Schools is receiving less and less of the tax dollars intended to support it.” – IPS Board Member Gayle Cosby
That’s their excuse.
They claim there’s no money to keep schools open. They say “difficult decisions” must be made while our kids sit in overcrowded, violent classrooms and teachers scramble to stretch pennies into paychecks.
They say they’re fighting for public education, that IPS belongs to us.
But when it came time to make sacrifices, can you guess who got left behind?
In December 2024, the IPS Board quietly voted to gift themselves taxpayer-funded healthcare—a benefit the Board never had before.
Then—like magic—the district’s self-insurance spend ballooned by over $1 million.
- November 2024 (Before Vote): $2,865,440.98
- December 2024 (Month of Vote): $3,138,836.39
- January 2025: $3,249,346.33
- February 2025: $3,933,608.16
Total Increase: $1,068,167.18 in just three months.
IPS board members refuse to fully fund classrooms and claim there’s no money left.
But somehow, there’s plenty for them.
Board members like Gayle Cosby pretend to be outraged, writing:
“It’s almost as if the ‘powers that be’ do not care if IPS continues to provide traditional public school options or not…”
She’s right.
Because the real “powers that be” are the IPS board itself.
They cut schools. They cut staff. Yet somehow, they always take care of themselves.
From illegally underpaying teachers while giving themselves massive raises to quietly securing taxpayer-funded perks, one thing is clear:
IPS isn’t failing. It’s feeding itself.
They don’t serve students. They don’t serve parents.
They serve themselves.
The law is clear: Indiana school districts that receive increased state funding must use it to maintain or increase teacher salaries.
Indianapolis Public Schools failed to comply with this law and shortchanged our teachers.
But Superintendent Aleesia
A January 2025 notice from the Indiana Department of Education revealed:
IPS was required to spend $108.3 million on teacher salaries.
They fell $4.5 million short, despite increased state funding.
Meanwhile, Johnson made sure to get her raises, with her salary increasing $14,000 in the last two years:
IPS isn’t operating on empty. They collected $20,674 per student—one of the highest rates in the state and a whopping 54% increase in the last five years alone — and just spent an astounding $35 million on a new school.
Even so, they’re still projecting a deficit while refusing to meet teacher pay requirements —yet somehow, there’s always plenty for the big boss.
IPS had one job: pay teachers what they’re legally owed.
Instead, Superintendent Aleesia
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