Resident tells Victoria ISD board districts are ‘carved out’ by race, urges board reflect community
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Summary
During public comment at the Aug. 28 special meeting, Andrew Rockovich accused VISD district lines of racially based gerrymandering and urged the board to reflect the county's partisan makeup; the board chair reminded speakers of limits on complaints about employees under state law.
Andrew Rockovich, a resident who addressed the Victoria Independent School District board during the public-comment portion of the Aug. 28 special meeting, told trustees he believes district boundaries have been drawn to favor one political group and that the board does not reflect countywide voting patterns.
"In the last nationwide election...3 out of every 4, that's 75% voted Republican and 25% voted Democrat. Yet this board ... has a total combined value of 40% Democrat representation," Rockovich said. He called the district maps "carved out to give power to one group while denying it to the majority" and said the Supreme Court has said race cannot be used in drawing lines. "That's wrong. That's unfair," he said.
Rockovich urged the board to act so that "the people of Victoria deserve a school board that reflects them, not a board entitled by race or any other geographic denominations." He also referenced statewide efforts to redraw legislative maps and said parents and taxpayers "will not forgive those who had a chance to fix it, but chose silence instead."
The board chair prefaced the public-comment period with a reminder that complaints or charges against a Victoria ISD officer or employee may trigger protections under state law. "If within your comments you include complaints or charges against a VISD officer employee, you'll be stopped by this chair in accordance with Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code," the chair said; the chair added that the board could take any required closed-session action under board policy BED and the cited government-code provisions.
Rockovich concluded his remarks by saying, "Victoria's conservative. Victoria's Republican. And this board must reflect that." The meeting proceeded to other public comments and the scheduled budget discussion.
Ending: Rockovich's remarks were part of the meeting's public-comment period and did not prompt a board vote or an immediate action; board members did not respond on the record during the meeting to his specific allegations.