Latest news with #BrewerStorefront
CBS News
15-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Parent sues Keller ISD, alleges Voting Rights Act violations in trustee elections
NORTH TEXAS – In a federal lawsuit filed against Keller ISD and its board of trustees, parent Claudio Vallejo alleges the board's election rules violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The lawsuit comes as the school board considers a controversial proposal to split the district in half. "This Voting Rights Act of course provides a remedy for voters of color whose votes are being diluted by any scheme system, if you will," attorney Bill Brewer said. Brewer Storefront, the community advocacy arm of Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, tells CBS News Texas that currently, Keller trustees are voted on in at-large elections. "That means that although there are a number of seats that are occupied by trustees, every citizen who votes in the election gets to vote for all seats where there is a vacancy," Brewer said. He believes that in Keller, this favors a white majority. "You have a citizens voting age population where the majority is white," he said. "About one-third of the population is not white." However, the lawsuit alleges students of color make up more than 52% of the district. Brewer said performance gaps are extraordinary. "The vast majority of Black children in the Keller ISD schools will never achieve grade level education expectations," he said. They're proposing moving to a cumulative voting system. "Where if there are, say, three vacancies in the next election, I can vote three times," Brewer said. "I can put all of my votes on the Hispanic candidate, the Black candidate." The district has been embroiled in controversy over a proposal to split it in half along Highway 377. Board members say it's a way to address the financial crisis the district is facing, but some parents believe they want to separate the more affluent areas from the less affluent areas. They're pushing for certain trustees to be voted out.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legal firm files lawsuit against Keller ISD, alleges violations of Voting Rights Act
A Dallas law firm filed a federal lawsuit against the Keller school district in U.S. District Court on Feb. 14, alleging its board's election rules violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well as the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment provides for equal protection under the law for all U.S. citizens. The 15th Amendment ensures citizens' right to vote, regardless of race or color. In January, Brewer Storefront, the pro bono community advocacy arm of Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, threatened legal action against the district and issued an open letter addressed to school board president Charles Randklev and trustees. At that time, Brewer offered a 'path forward' to avoid litigation that included adopting a cumulative electoral system for school board seats in which voters have multiple votes that can be divided among all open seats or consolidated in support of particular candidates. Keller trustees are voted on in at-large elections in which voters select candidates from across the district to fill open seats. Some experts believe at-large elections unfairly favor majority voting blocs. In a statement to the Star-Telegram, a representative from Brewer Storefront said the firm received no response from the board to the open letter. Brewer is representing plaintiff Claudio Vallejo, a Keller parent. The Keller school district and all seven board members — Charles Randklev, John Birt, Joni Shaw Smith, Micah Young, Chelsea Kelly, Chris Coker and Heather Washington — are named as defendants. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth. A Keller school district representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. 'On its face, the KISD electoral system dilutes the votes of minority citizens within the KISD community, particularly Hispanic voters,' the suit's preliminary statement says. 'Like many electoral systems for school boards throughout Texas, the at-large KISD scheme, coupled with staggered terms and off-cycle voting, enables a white majority to prevent the growing minority community from electing candidates of their choosing.' Keller is what is known as a 'majority minority' district, meaning less than half of its enrolled students are white. According to Texas Education Agency data cited in the suit, 24.8% of Keller students are Hispanic and 11.4% are Black. Keller's school board is entirely white, and the suit alleges there hasn't been a Hispanic candidate elected in the last 25 years despite the fact that registered Hispanic voters comprise roughly 15% of the Keller district electorate. This, the suit claims, has resulted in an achievement gap between white students and students of color. According to the most recent publicly available TEA data, from the 2022-23 school year, 50.2% of Black seniors in the Keller school district reached the college readiness threshold. For Hispanic students, that number was 54.7%, and it was 70.7% for white students. These statistics were confirmed by a district spokesperson. Much of the uproar around Keller centers on a recent proposal by board members to split the district in half using U.S. 377 as the dividing line. Opponents have accused the board of seeking to separate the relatively more affluent, white majority east side from the less affluent, more racially diverse west side. Five of Keller's seven board members reside on the east side. Only Joni Shaw Smith and Chelsea Kelly live west of U.S. 377, and both of them have opposed the split. Board members who support the plan say it has nothing to do with demographics, and that a split is the best way to navigate a financial crisis that has left the school district operating at a budget deficit. Attorney William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and lead counsel for Vallejo, provided a statement to the Star-Telegram: 'The at-large election system used by Keller ISD dilutes the votes of the significant number of Hispanic citizens. Given the racial polarization that exists, white voters are able to block Hispanic voters from electing school board candidates of their choosing — those who would best represent their schools, children and community. As the controversial proposal to split the district in two underscores, the consequence of the at-large voting scheme is a collection of white trustees who are out of touch with the needs of the majority of the children who attend KISD schools .' Brewer has previously initiated the move away from at-large voting in the Lewisville, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Irving and Grand Prairie school districts.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Law firm opposing Keller school board election rules offers ‘path' to avoid lawsuit
In a letter to Keller school board president Charles Randklev and trustees, Brewer Storefront, the pro bono community advocacy arm of Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, issued what it dubbed a path forward for the district to avoid a lawsuit over its proposed district split. The Dallas-based firm believes Keller's at-large electoral rules and off-cycle election schedule violate part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by denying voters of color an equal voice. The letter, which was shared with the Star-Telegram, outlined Brewer's suggestions for rectifying what it views as voter suppression tactics: The Keller school board must abandon immediate plans to split the district in half. The board must pursue a more inclusive voting system. Ostensibly, this means moving from an at-large electoral system to a cumulative system in which voters have multiple votes that can be divided across all open seats or consolidated in support of particular candidates. The district must move board elections to November during the general voting period. Currently, Keller school district elections are held in May. Some argue the low turnout at off-cycle elections can result in representatives who are not aligned politically with most of their constituents. Finally, the board must inform voters, 'especially minority voters,' in both English and Spanish about election dates, candidates and procedures. Board members did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
