N.Y. School District Diluted Black, Latino Vote for Board (1)

The East Ramapo Central School District in New York controlled the composition of its school board through an at-large election system that kept minority-preferred candidates out of office in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the Second Circuit affirmed Wednesday.

A lower court’s order halting school board elections until the district implements a remedial plan will remain in place.

Several factors support a finding that the district violated the law, including a “near-perfect correlation between race and school-type,” the appeals court said. Some 98% of private school students are White, primarily from Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish families, while 92% of ...