Star-Telegram Reports Keller ISD Drops Controversial Plan, VRA Lawsuit Continues
March 14, 2025 - The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that while the Keller Independent School District board no longer is considering splitting the district, a voting rights lawsuit against the district will continue.
The Brewer Storefront filed suit in federal court on behalf of plaintiff Claudio Vallejo against the Keller Independent School District (KISD), alleging that the school district’s election system violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it denies fair representation to Hispanic voters. The lawsuit further alleges violations of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
Filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, on February 14, 2025, the lawsuit takes aim at the school district’s at-large voting system which denies Hispanic voters an opportunity to elect school board representatives of their choosing. The Storefront is the community impact legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.
Brewer Storefront Partner William Brewer told the Star-Telegram that the Voting Rights Act lawsuit challenging the at large election system used to elect school board trustees will go forward.
“We are pleased that Keller ISD — in the face of the legal action taken by our client — reconsidered splitting the district,” Brewer said. “Of course, our client will press forward with his Voting Rights Act lawsuit against Keller ISD and continue to shine a light on actions detrimental to the district’s academic mission.”
Read more here.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Reports on Voting Rights Lawsuit Against Keller ISD
February 14, 2025 – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Brewer Storefront filed a lawsuit against the Keller Independent School District (KISD) in federal court on behalf of plaintiff and Keller parent Claudio Vallejo, alleging that the district's at-large election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The article states that the at-large electoral system dilutes the votes of minority voters, particularly Hispanic voters. The report also referred to the current "uproar" over a proposal to split Keller ISD in half, seeking to separate the relative more affluent and white east side from the less affluent, more racially diverse west side. Five of Keller's seven board members reside on the east side.
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.”
Read more here.
Brewer Star-Telegram Op-Ed Urges Keller ISD to Abandon At-Large Voting
February 6, 2025 — Brewer Storefront Chairman William Brewer writes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that at-large election systems disadvantage minority voters. He points to the use of at-large voting to elect school board trustees in the Keller Independent School District as one example of how at large voting systems fail voters.
"The controversy surrounding a proposal to break up the Keller Independent School District raises fresh concerns about a voting system widely recognized as discriminatory: at-large voting," Brewer writes in the opening of the opinion piece.
Brewer writes that if the more racially diverse west side of the school district was better represented on the school board, a discussion about splitting the school district would not be happening as it currently is.
He suggests that cumulative voting and single-member districts offer a remedy to violations of the Voting Rights Act, for Keller ISD and other school boards.
"Even casual observers know that at-large voting schemes — in which officials are elected across an entity rather than to represent specific districts — typically result in power being consolidated in the 'majority' of voters to the exclusion of even sizable minorities in communities," Brewer writes.
He suggests that cumulative voting offers a more equitable solution and writes that "if a school board election is for three seats, a voter could cast all three votes for a single candidate. This enables smaller but cohesive voting blocs to secure representation, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making."
Brewer concludes that, "[Keller ISD] Trustees should shelve their plans to dismantle the district and adopt a voting system that enables participation of those whose views will better reflect the students the district is failing."
Read the op-ed here.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Reports on Brewer Storefront Letter to Keller ISD Board
January 30, 2025 — The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Brewer Storefront sent a letter to Keller Independent School District school board President Charles Randklev and trustees advising that the school district's at-large electoral system and off-cycle election schedule violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The letter also charted a "path forward" for the school district to avoid a lawsuit. The article noted that the letter outlined Brewer's suggestions for rectifying voter suppression tactics.
The requests included abandoning plans to split the district in half, pursuing a more inclusive voting system for the school district such as a cumulative system, moving elections to November, and fully informing voters in English and Spanish about election dates, candidates and procedures.
Read more here.
Star-Telegram Reports on Keller ISD, Potential Brewer Storefront Legal Challenge
January 24, 2025 – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports today on emerging legal issues within the Keller Independent School District. The reporting chronicles the work of the Brewer Storefront, the legal community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, and notes the Storefront’s many successful cases under the Voting Rights Act.
As reported, “At issue is the district’s [Keller ISD] at-large places in which voters select candidates from across the district to fill open school board seats. Some experts believe at-large elections unfairly favor majority voting blocs and therefore violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was established to ensure all registered voters have an equal voice.”
The alternative would be a single-member system in which voters elect representatives from subdistricts within the larger district. Over the past several years, legal challenges based on interpretations of the Voting Rights Act have pushed at least five North Texas school districts to change their electoral systems, says the article.
William Brewer, founding partner of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, said several Keller school district residents had reached out to his firm about challenging the election rules. Those inquiries were in response to a recent proposal to split the district in half, using Denton Highway as the dividing line. The plan was met with overwhelming opposition from parents at a Jan. 16 board meeting. The next public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30.
Brewer’s firm has successfully initiated the move away from at-large voting in the Lewisville, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Irving and Grand Prairie school districts. He said he plans to file the lawsuit within 45 to 60 days.
“The law says in order to force a change, you need to establish preconditions,” Brewer said. “You have to show that voting is polarized — that whites are voting for whites, Hispanics prefer voting for Hispanics and Blacks are voting for Blacks. Then you have to be able to draw districts around subgroups that are contiguous and compact. Those preconditions seem to be present in Keller.”
Read more here.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Reports on Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Efforts in Tarrant County
March 13, 2024 – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper reports on Brewer Storefront and its newly-announced Texas Voting Rights Initiative (TVRI). As reported, the Storefront sent warning letters to two school districts in Tarrant County – Arlington Independent School District and Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District.
The letters accuse the school districts of violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and denying voters of color an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. Brewer Storefront is the community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. Announced on March 7, 2024, the TVRI will continue to analyze voting systems used for electing school board trustees and city council members across Texas, advance written scholarship, and pursue legal action to uphold and strengthen voting rights.
“What we’re hoping is that the letters would be greeted with a positive response and that the outcome would be an invitation to work with our experts to help define a voting system that actually encourages participation and engender change,” William Brewer III told the Star-Telegram.
The report noted that Brewer stated that he hopes the school districts will work with his team to address the issues, but the firm is also prepared to effect change through the courts.
Read more here.