Lawyer: School Board Should Appeal Katrina Case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Orleans Parish School Board's attorney says the board should appeal a ruling that thousands of New Orleans teachers and other school workers were wrongfully fired after Hurricane Katrina shut down the city and scattered its people in 2005.

William Aaron said Thursday he will recommend that the board take state Civil District Judge Ethel Simms Julien's decision to the state 4th Circuit Court of Appeal.

Julien on Wednesday awarded more than $1 million to seven plaintiffs. But the Orleans school board and the state could face much higher costs because the ruling came in a class-action suit and opens the way for close to 7,000 others to make claims.