Louisiana Illegally Fired 7,500 Teachers, Judge Says
NEW ORLEANS — As much as some may wish otherwise, there is no starting from scratch when rebuilding a city, or a school system.
A judge confirmed that here on Wednesday, ruling that the Orleans Parish School Board and the Louisiana Department of Education, in laying the groundwork for a school reform movement that has become nationally recognized, illegally fired 7,500 school employees.
The decision by Ethel S. Julien, a federal District Court judge, backed by 45 pages of reasoning and historical narrative, reinforced a long-held counternarrative of the beginnings of that movement.
The judge described the state education superintendent, just two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, asking for billions of dollars from the federal government and saying that a significant portion would be used to pay out-of-work employees, the vast majority of whom were from Orleans Parish.
More . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/education/louisiana-illegally-fired-7500-teachers-judge-rules.html?_r=4&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
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