In just a few weeks, we are asking the voters of the Ferguson-Florissant School District to be a part of history.
For years, the Ferguson-Florissant School District’s voting system diluted the voice of Black residents. That’s about to change. On April 2, district voters will see their ballot for school board candidates looks a little different.
This ballot allows voters to place two votes among three school board candidates. It is up to individuals how to spread their votes – to back two candidates with one vote to each, or to put both their votes behind one candidate. It is a voting method called cumulative voting, and it has the power to give minority groups a more representative voice on Election Day.
The change to the voting system is a court-ordered remedy to generations of systematic dilution of the black vote that has had lasting effects on the district’s black community.
In 2014, we sued the Ferguson-Florissant School District on behalf of the NAACP and several residents of the district. At the time of our lawsuit, there was one black member on the seven-member school board.
The district’s voting system consistently resulted in a school board that was overwhelmingly white, as white residents nearly always voted as a bloc for white candidates. Yet, Ferguson-Florissant’s student body is greater than 80 percent black. Severe racial disparities in school discipline and student achievement gaps persisted, and the school board took no meaningful effort to address them. An all-white school board forced out the district’s first black superintendent.
A court found that the district’s racially polarized voting, in combination with generations of systemic discrimination in housing and education, violated the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the votes of the African-American community.
A district’s school board holds an immense amount of power in the community. School boards decide which schools stay open (and which close), set the curriculum and adopt collective bargaining agreements. Having equitable representation on the school board ensures that the board responds to the black community in a meaningful way.
The underrepresentation of the black community shaped the way the district was governed, and, in turn, builds on years of discrimination and inequality. Now, Ferguson-Florissant’s African-American community has a chance to change things.
To encourage voter participation in this historic election, ACLU of Missouri has launched a targeted effort to educate voters about the change to cumulative voting. This includes canvassing throughout the Ferguson-Florissant School District, a direct mail campaign, and a candidate forum with community partners.
We urge residents to join us to get informed on the new voting system and meet the school board candidates. We have teamed up with the St. Louis American, Missouri NAACP State Conference and iHeart Media to help people understand the changes. Come School the Vote with us on March 26 from 6 – 8:30 p.m., Greater Grace Family Church, 3690 Pershall Road, Ferguson, MO 63135.Â
For more information, visit www.fergflovotes.com.Â
Tony Rothert is legal director at ACLU of Missouri.Â
