All those teachers who were fired for having caused Katrina

Yeah that might not have been the right thing to do.

A state appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling that thousands of New Orleans teachers fired after Hurricane Katrina were denied the constitutional right of due process.

A panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal also adjusted the lower court's damage award, ordering the New Orleans school board to pay two years of back pay and benefits and requiring the state to pay an additional year of back pay and benefits to teachers who meet certain requirements.

A state judge had awarded more than $1 million to seven lead plaintiffs in the case.

In testimony before the appeal court, a board attorney said upholding the initial ruling would mean as many as 7,500 other teachers and staff would in line to receive nearly $1.5 billion in damage payments.

Of course if the city treats this the way they treat any of the other judgments they've had go against them for being shitty to people you'll see these teachers start to get paid sometime between 20 years from now and never.

Maybe someone should ask the mayoral candidates if they support these teachers tonight.

Update: It occurs to me that I will have to clarify this before someone points out what I already know.  The entities on the hook for this are the Orleans Parish School Board and the State which are funded separately from "the city." This does not mean, however, that it is an inappropriate matter to question the mayoral or city council candidates about. Especially given the amount of time many of them spend cheering the post-Katrina "reforms" of public education set in motion by these illegal firings.