Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Chalmette
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) â Gov. John Bel Edwards said he supports Black lawmakers push to oust House Education Chairman Ray Garofalo, who referenced the âgoodâ parts of slavery in debate over his bill to prohibit teaching of âdivisive conceptsâ about racism and sexism.
âI believe that the incident is egregious enough to warrant his removal, but Iâm also the first to tell you Iâm not the one who makes that decision,â the Democratic governor said.
Republican House Speaker Clay Schexnayder said he hadn t determined whether to keep or remove Garofalo, a St. Bernard Parish Republican, from the chairmanship in a controversy that has consumed the House for days.
La. Black lawmakers want chairman ousted for divisive bill
MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Louisiana s Black lawmakers Wednesday called for the removal of the House Education Committee chairman for his bill aimed at limiting conversations about racism and sexism in schools and a debate in which he referenced the “good” parts of slavery.
The Legislative Black Caucus said Republican Rep. Ray Garofalo s legislation includes “insensitive and racist elements, and they suggested his slavery comments only worsened the insult they felt from the proposal.
“An apology is not enough,” Rep. Ted James, the Baton Rouge Democrat who chairs the Black Caucus, said in a statement. “The defense of systemic racism throughout our country is unarguably an issue, and the language of this proposal alone is enough to offend those of us working toward change.”
Louisiana lawmaker s comment on slavery draws growing backlash Greg Hilburn, Lafayette Daily Advertiser
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LAFAYETTE, Louisiana The state s Legislative Black Caucus is requesting the removal of Republican state Rep. Ray Garofalo as chair of the House Education Committee after Garofalo s comments about slavery Tuesday went viral.
During debate over Garofalo s bill that would ban the teaching of systemic racism, known as critical race theory, the Chalmette representative indicated there may have been good components about slavery before quickly walking his comments back.
“If you are having a discussion on whatever the case may be, on slavery, then you can talk about everything dealing with slavery: the good, the bad, the ugly,” Garofalo said.
The smaller raises “are insufficient,” Fields said in a meeting of the Senate Education Committee.
Fields didn’t identify how the state will pay for the larger pay raises, which would more than double the $40 million price tag for the governor’s proposed increases.
The House Appropriations Committee on Monday will unveil its spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1, which is expected to include the bigger salary hikes and show how lawmakers have chosen to fund them.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Louisiana doesn’t have the major financial problems it’s seen in prior years as the state’s tax collections rebound and federal aid has helped cover some of the remaining gaps.
Capitol Briefing: Louisiana lawmakers plan $1,000 teacher pay raise
From wire reports
Lawmakers plan $1,000 teacher pay raise
Louisiana lawmakers intend to give K-12 public school teachers a $1,000 pay raise next year, more than double the amount proposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, the leader of the Senate Education Committee said Thursday.
Sen. Cleo Fields, a Baton Rouge Democrat, said legislative leaders plan to include that salary hike in next year s budget, along with a $500 increase for support staff such as cafeteria workers and bus drivers. Louisiana remains well behind the Southern average for its education salaries.
Fields said the agreement was reached with Senate President Page Cortez and House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, along with the heads of the House and Senate budget committees, all Republicans. Edwards had proposed $400 teacher raises and $200 for support workers, though the Democratic governor had said he hoped that could be increased if more money became availab