William Brewer Writes in The Dallas Morning News About Texas School Accountability Case

October 15, 2024 — William Brewer III writes in today’s Dallas Morning News opinion section that Texas school accountability ratings should be released, and shares that the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (FLP) intervened in a court case in support of doing so.

The text of the piece follows:

The “Texas miracle” is an often-told tale of unbridled economic expansion and explosive population growth.

But as new residents flock to our state — an estimated 470,000 last year — many public schools in Texas are failing to adequately educate the children already here. It is no “miracle” when most of Texas students attending public school did not meet grade level on the state STAAR exam last year, including 64% of Black children, 58% of Hispanic children and 62% of economically disadvantaged students who did not, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Unfortunately, rather than a united determination to fix the situation, battle lines are emerging in the community — and in the courtroom. A monumental fight is taking place in state court that will determine whether parents can easily access information evaluating the student performance at schools that their children attend. Incredibly, the answer from a Travis County judge may be “No,” as she recently blocked the release of such data after five school districts sued Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.

School and district ratings should be released, for the sake of transparency and accountability. Doing so represents the first step in addressing the state’s educational crisis. Such information informs educational choices parents make for their children. Information is power, and the effort to suppress it is a detriment to educational progress and the future generations of our state.

That’s why the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program, which supports students from a dozen Dallas ISD schools, is among the parties that intervened in the case in support of releasing school ratings. Programs like the FLP, parents and community stakeholders need to access such information and use it to empower them to make critical educational decisions.

School districts are taking divergent paths in the legal action over the release of Texas public school accountability ratings, with some districts, such as Dallas ISD, voluntarily releasing their projected ratings.

Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, and yet just 33 districts that have now joined the lawsuit are blocking the release of ratings for all districts.

Of those school districts, 27 performed worse than the state average when it comes to students meeting grade level in 2023, according to TEA data on STAAR performance by school district. While scrutiny often focuses on large urban school districts such as Houston and Dallas, the plaintiff districts in the lawsuit demonstrate that many rural districts and exurb communities are struggling and failing to adequately educate children.

For example, in 2023, Kingsville ISD enrolled 2,694 children and only 27% met grade level on the STAAR exam across all grade levels and subjects tested.

We must invest in public schools and commit to making them better. They are part of the fabric of our state and will always remain so. In 1876, the Texas Constitution wisely declared that it was the duty of the state Legislature to support and maintain “an efficient system of public free schools” given the essential role of a “general diffusion of knowledge.” We must resist the urge to turn the accountability case into a referendum on vouchers.

The immediate impulse may be to penalize these failing districts. Instead, let’s talk about solutions: schools need adequate funding to address challenges to student achievement.

Many studies report that Texas is not funding its public schools adequately. An August 2024 report by Rice University’s Kinder Institute found that 73% of Texas public schools are underfunded and that districts with the larger funding gaps tend to have the lowest student achievement ratings from the TEA. The report concluded that “severely underfunded” school districts were “strongly associated” with ratings of “C” or worse. The correlation comes as no surprise.

Let’s consider the findings of the accountability ratings a galvanizing force. Within every district, we should promote transparency, address academic and financial shortcomings, and share best practices, all benefits of the ratings process. Only then can we live up to our larger-than-life story of the Texas miracle.

William A. Brewer III is managing partner of the Brewer Storefront and founder of the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program. Katherine Leal Unmuth contributed to this article.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

Famed Texas Company AmeriTex Faces Lawsuit for Allegedly Falsifying Projections and Breaching Its Obligations to Equity Holder

Dallas, TX … October 3, 2024 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors announced today that its client, a former C-Suite executive of AmeriTex Holding, LLC (“AmeriTex”), the parent of AmeriTex Pipe & Products, filed claims against the company, its CEO Kevin Thompson, and director Thomas Murphy, alleging that key executives conspired to contrive financial information to avoid paying him “fair value” for his stake in the company. The filing also names the national accounting firm Marcum LLP and the law firm Kelly Hart & Hallman – both of which allegedly played a role in the claimed conspiracy.

Filed in the 456th Judicial District of Guadalupe County, Texas, on October 3, 2024, the claims lay bare the inner workings of a scheme to deny the executive, Christopher Podlasek, financial benefits to which he is entitled by creating phony projections which understate the multi-billion value of AmeriTex. According to the filing, defendants “manufactured a set of false financial projections (that wildly diverged from the projections AmeriTex recently used in the ordinary course of its business) to avoid paying Podlasek for his 1.5% equity interest.”

Founded in 2009, AmeriTex manufacturers water drainage products used in commercial construction and public works projects. The company rose to prominence as the largest player in Texas’ reinforced concrete pipe industry – which is key to the state’s exploding infrastructure needs and accounts for more than $1.2 billion in economic output.  According to the company, its three campus operations are larger than all its competitors’ storage areas combined.

The lawsuit claims that the phony financial projections were created at the same time AmeriTex presented differing, bullish forecasts to the most significant credit rating agencies in the world, including S&P and Moody’s, multinational financial institutions Bank of America and U.S. Bancorp, and institutional investors when it raised $530 million in an October 2023 high yield bond offering.  Months later, AmeriTex used the same bullish outlook to secure a new $155 million credit facility from Bank of America.

“Our client believes he was victimized by a scheme to avoid paying him ‘fair value’ for his stake in the company he helped build,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer and counsel to Mr. Podlasek. “Apparently, AmeriTex and its principals seek to keep financial benefits to which they are not entitled. Lost in the story of this Texas company is the way it attempted to devalue its worth and what it owes a former member of the company. It’s a disturbing tale for those in Texas who have witnessed AmeriTex secure state-funded projects, dominate key markets, and realize astronomical growth.”

The legal claims allege that AmeriTex recruited Podlasek to be Chief Financial Officer during a time of fiscal turmoil – to help it stabilize its back office and finance function, raise capital, and open new facilities. He did so successfully. During Podlasek’s tenure, AmeriTex grew its annual revenue from approximately $100 million to over $320 million. It also secured massive projects and embarked upon new markets – earning a glowing endorsement from Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Brewer Foundation Intervenes in Travis County Demanding Greater Accountability and Transparency for Public Schools

September 5, 2024, Dallas, Texas… The Brewer Foundation on September 5, 2024, filed a petition in intervention (“petition”) on behalf of its Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (“FLP”), seeking the release of the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) 2024 A-F accountability ratings for school districts and campuses.

On August 12, 2024, a Travis County judge blocked the scheduled release of the school ratings with a temporary restraining order after five school districts (located across West and South Texas) sued Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath in Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, et al., v. Mike Morath.

The Foundation is represented by the Brewer Storefront – the community service affiliate of the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. The petition seeks to dissolve the temporary restraining and prevent a permanent injunction – paving the way for greater accountability in these school districts across Texas.

The FLP is an award-winning public-private partnership that provides academic resources and leadership training to economically disadvantaged students in the Dallas Independent School District. The program maintains relationships with educators across the state, has been recognized by the Texas State Board of Education and Texas Governor’s Office, and advocates for improved educational offerings in Texas and beyond.

“The plaintiff districts are attempting to prevent the release of grades that help educators and parents better understand how their local public schools are performing and how well they are educating children,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and founder of the FLP. “We support the call for greater transparency. As we know from our work with FLP students, identifying the opportunities to improve the educational system is the key to addressing educational performance – to the benefit of children and our collective futures.”

According to the petition, only about 53% of students in Texas meet grade level in English language arts and reading, and around 23% of students across all districts in Texas are not even approaching grade level. These numbers are even more drastic when Black and Hispanic student scores are isolated. Across the State, more than 59% of Black students and 54% of Hispanic students fail to read at grade level.

According to the TEA, the ratings are based on three domains: student achievement, school progress, and closing the gaps.

The Storefront has brought numerous successful Section 2 Voting Rights Act cases on behalf of Hispanic and Black voters in Texas, in efforts to ensure that the interests of minority voters – and children – are better represented on elected school boards. The Storefront’s Texas Voting Rights Initiative (TVRI) was founded due to concerns that a lack of diversity and equitable geographic representation on school boards can lead to underfunded schools, school and student achievement gaps, and disenfranchised voters.

Founded in 2001, the FLP is an academic and leadership development program that benefits Dallas Independent School District (DISD) students, ages 12-18, and provides them with year-round academic coursework and leadership training to prepare students for success in college and beyond. The FLP has become a national model to address the “dropout epidemic.”

The petition adds that the Brewer Foundation has a “vested interest” in the availability of the A-F performance ratings so the students in the FLP program and their parents can make “informed school decisions.”

The petition observes that the five plaintiff school districts face considerable challenges with student achievement:

• Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District in West Texas in 2022-23 enrolled 2,776 students, of whom about 72% were economically disadvantaged and 91% were Hispanic. In 2023, 66% of students did not meet grade level.

• Crandall Independent School District outside of Dallas in 2022-23 enrolled 6,003 students of whom about 62% were economically disadvantaged, about 40% were Hispanic, 31% were white and 25% were Black. In 2023, about 60% of students did not meet grade level.

• Forney Independent School District outside of Dallas in 2022-23 enrolled 16,211 students, of whom about 43% were economically disadvantaged, 36% of students were Black and 29% were Hispanic. In 2023, about 51% of students did not meet grade level.

• Fort Stockton Independent School District in West Texas in 2022-23 enrolled 2,187 students, of whom about 71% were economically disadvantaged and 89% were Hispanic. In 2023, about 65% of students did not meet grade level.

• Kingsville Independent School District in South Texas in 2022-23 enrolled 2,694 students, of whom about 83% were economically disadvantaged and 85% were Hispanic. In 2023, about 73% of students did not meet grade level.

The petition seeks dissolution of the temporary restraining order – and denial of plaintiffs’ request for a permanent injunction prohibiting the issuance of accountability ratings for the 2023-24 school year.

Houston Landing Reports on Humble ISD Voting Rights Action

May 9, 2024 – Houston Landing reports on a Voting Rights Act lawsuit filed by Brewer Storefront on behalf of plaintiff Judith Bautista against the Humble Independent School District on Thursday, alleging the election system violates the VRA by preventing Hispanic voters from electing their preferred school board candidates. The lawsuit was filed as part of the Storefront’s recently announced Texas Voting Rights Initiative (TVRI).

 Houston Landing reports that the lawsuit was brought by Bautista, a former Spanish teacher in the district. There are currently no Hispanic trustees on the board.

“Regrettably, the diverse ethnic and racial makeup of Humble ISD is not reflected in its elected Board of Trustees — who live in a cluster in the predominantly white (and higher income) areas within Humble ISD,” the lawsuit states.

The Landing reports that the suit seeks as a remedy for the court to mandate that Humble ISD adopted “single member districts.” The article mentions that the lack of Hispanic representation contributes to the district’s “achievement gap” between students of color and white students.

Read the Houston Landing report here.

Houston Public Media Reports on Texas Voting Rights Initiative

March 19, 2024 – Houston Public Media reports on warning letters sent by Brewer Storefront to two Houston-area school districts notifying them that their at large election systems used for electing school board trustees could be violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Brewer Storefront is the community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.

Letters were sent to 11 Texas school districts as a part of Brewer Storefront's newly launched Texas Voting Rights Initiative. The letters request that Houston area school districts Angleton ISD and Humble ISD adopt single member district election systems that create at least one opportunity district for Hispanic voters. 

The article notes that Brewer Storefront has brought several Voting Rights Act challenges against school districts and municipalities in Texas.

The article notes that, “Brewer Storefront, which has made legal challenges that prompted similar changes at five school districts in the Dallas area, said a lack of diversity and equitable geographic representation on school boards can result in disenfranchised voters, underfunding and achievement gaps for both schools and their individual students.”

The article reports that Sergio Lira, a Houston League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) leader,  praised Brewer Storefront for highlighting Texas school districts that could have more equitable and reflective representation on their boards. 

Houston Public Media quoted Brewer Storefront Chairman William A. Brewer III stating that, "We urge these school districts to take proactive steps in adopting election systems that comply with the Voting Rights Act and create districts that give voters of color a fair opportunity to participate in the electoral process. We believe our political institutions work best when they give all voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing."

Read more here.

Brewer Storefront Files Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Voting Rights Case

February 22, 2024 —Brewer Storefront filed a motion for leave to file an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs in the Petteway v. Galveston County case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Storefront is the pro bono community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.

The matter at issue concerns whether coalitions of minority voters – in this case Latino and Black voters – can continue to together bring Section 2 Voting Rights Act (VRA) claims. This includes situations where they constitute a group that is geographically compact and politically cohesive that forms a majority in a single member district. The Petteway case concerns Galveston County Commissioner redistricting maps.  The Storefront typically brings its voting rights cases under Section 2, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group.   

The amicus notes that the Fifth Circuit was the first Federal Circuit to expressly allow minority coalition claims and has continued to do so. The brief cites the history of the Fifteenth Amendment and the suppression of minority voter rights that followed it. The brief states, “it is clear that the VRA is intended to broadly protect minority voting rights, including coalition claims, not limit protections of certain minority groups based on the composition of the group facing disenfranchisement.”

The brief adds that barring coalitions would gut the VRA, concluding that, “If Defendants are successful in this appeal, coalitions of minority litigants will have no meaningful opportunity to challenge demonstrably discriminatory practices that abridge their right to vote or dilute the power of their votes across the Fifth Circuit. Such action would frustrate Congress’ clearly stated purpose for enacting the VRA in 1965 and subsequently reauthorizing it 5 times over the next 40 years—effectively gutting the VRA as to a wide array of minorities.”

Since it opened in 1995, the Storefront has brought numerous successful Section 2 VRA cases lawsuits on behalf of Latino, African American and Asian voters across North Texas. The Storefront has brought coalition claims before, including in the current Shafer v. Pearland Independent School District case. Most recently, on August 18, 2023, it was announced that the Storefront successfully resolved a Voting Rights Act case with the Lewisville Independent School District (LISD) – paving the way for a new electoral system in LISD. 

The Storefront has successfully challenged many at-large election systems and unfairly drawn single-member districts. Under the Voting Rights Act, those lawsuits alleged that such systems deny voters of color a fair opportunity to meaningfully participate in the electoral process – and to elect school board representatives or city council members of their choosing.   

 “We ask the Fifth Circuit to uphold the standing of voters of color to combine in coalition classes to challenge voting systems that deny minorities an equal opportunity to vote,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront. “Given the increasingly multiracial composition of our democracy, coalition cases should be allowed to continue under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Any effort to bar coalition claims is a transparent effort to suppress minority votes.”

Dallas Morning News Publishes Brewer Storefront Op-Ed on Election Timing

August 31, 2023 — The Dallas Morning News published an op-ed in the Opinion section Thursday by partner William A. Brewer III and Marie Brewer calling for the elimination of off-cycle May local elections in Texas and moving elections on-cycle to November to improve voter participation. The article reflects the Brewer Storefront’s continued dedication to enforcing and promoting the Voting Rights Act in Texas communities. The Storefront is the firm’s community-service legal affiliate.
 
The commentary follows:

In Texas, discriminatory voting practices that depress minority voter participation remain the norm. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Allen vs. Milligan, upholding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, could spark legal challenges to our state’s local and state election systems going forward.

In our state, the Election Code mandates that general and special elections be held on one of the uniform election dates: the first Saturday in May, or the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Although the code allows for elections to be held “on-cycle” (when state and federal elections occur), many local school board and city council elections are still held in May rather than November.

The timing of elections significantly impacts voter turnout. Experts, like political scientist Sarah F. Anzia, argue that the date of an election is the single greatest factor impacting voter turnout and composition. Other states recognize this and have adjusted their local elections accordingly. New York recently joined California, Arizona and Nevada in moving off-cycle local elections to coincide with statewide and national elections. These states point to increasing voter turnout and opportunity, specifically minority turnout, as the reason for the shift.

Fewer than 25% of Americans vote in elections for their local mayor and city council members, and turnout in off-cycle local elections averages over 30% lower than local elections held during presidential elections. In Texas, the situation is even more alarming. This past May, several major counties could not even reach 10% voter turnout.

All voting systems should aim to increase voter participation, and off-cycle elections especially warrant particular attention due to their disproportionate impact on minority voters. When off-cycle elections are moved on-cycle, minority groups increase their share of the electorate by up to 10 percentage points. Moreover, when local elections coincide with presidential elections, a larger share of voters come from families earning under $30,000 annually, while the share of voters earning more than $100,000 decreases.

When local elections are synchronized with national or statewide elections, the election date garners greater attention and accessibility across all voter groups. Conversely, off-cycle elections result in lower participation by large portions of eligible voters, and minority groups are disproportionately affected.

The past decade of social science research establishes that off-cycle elections undeniably affect voter participation and the makeup of voters who turn up at the ballot box, producing a voter pool that is not representative of the entire community.

As the courts have recognized, factors such as homeownership, education and income are strongly associated with voter turnout. Racial disparities in those factors can therefore contribute to racial disparities in political participation as well.

Although there may have been legitimate concerns in the 1800s and early 1900s that prompted off-cycle elections, such as the desire to separate local races from corrupt and partisan elections held at the federal and state level, there were also more problematic reasons aimed at discouraging voter participation from certain demographics.

Many local Texas communities, with a long history of racial discrimination, still experience disparities in wealth, education and homeownership. It is evident that under the totality of circumstances, off-cycle elections violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This was not a direct argument in Allen vs. Mulligan, but the case is instructive on many levels: It fosters the belief that voting rights should be protected and any barriers to equal opportunity should be eliminated. And with such a viable alternative of switching to on-cycle elections, there is no reason for this practice to persist where minority groups already struggle to make their voices heard.

Our institutions work best when they are welcoming and inclusive. Texas should embrace the learnings of the recent Supreme Court decision — and awaken to the many ways in which the Voting Rights Act can be used to foster political opportunity.

El Paso Times Reports on Lawsuit Against Chrysler Brought by Texas Dealership Owner

On August 9, 2021, the El Paso Times published a front-page article reporting that Brewer client Richard C. Poe II has sued Chrysler, as he fights for control of his Texas dealerships.

The article reported that in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Michigan, Poe claims that Chrysler conspired with three of his father’s business associates and their appointed dealership manager to prevent Poe from taking control of the dealerships.

William Brewer, counsel to Poe, told the Times, “Chrysler knew Richard was the heir apparent. When Dick Poe passed away, the one with legitimate control was Richard, but Chrysler began refusing to talk to Richard and awarded the dealership (control) to the interlopers."

The Times reported that the lawsuit lists the dealerships “derivatively” as plaintiffs along with Poe.

“Because he has an ownership interest in the dealerships," Poe has the legal right to file the lawsuit on behalf of the dealerships so they can receive restitution from Chrysler, Brewer said in a statement. “Naturally, those in control are critical of his efforts to bring this action" because the lawsuit includes allegations against them, he added.

Read more.