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.
