Jefferson Parish, the largest school district in Louisiana, must be desperate for board members.

Why in God’s name would they swear in a contractor from Metairie who has openly bragged about being at the “Stop the Steal” rally in D.C. on Jan. 6, called those who opposed the insurrection that followed—and pointed to former President Donald Trump as the inciter-in-chief—as “traitors,” and blamed teachers for “the fall of our young people in this country”?

Rafael Rafidi, who was sworn in during a special meeting on Wednesday, was obviously not very well-vetted for his new role.

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            Friday, Jan 7, 2022 ·  8:45:20 PM +00:00

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      Rebekah Sager
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Friday, Daily Kos senior staff writer April Siese, was emailed a letter from James Gray, Superintendent of the Jefferson Parish School district asking for Rafidi’s resignation. 

The letter and the statement from the school board are below: 

Dear Colleagues,  

Since Wednesday night’s special session board meeting, I’ve spoken with employees, families, and community leaders about concerns over comments made on social media by our newly appointed board member. I’ve shared your concerns, as well as my own, with our board and they have asked Mr. Rafidi to resign. This information will soon be shared publicly, but I want you to receive it from me first. I’ve included the board’s public statement at the end of this message.

I value you and the important role you play in the lives of our children. Our teachers, administrators, and staff are the champions of our kids. Not only have you been essential to the recovery of our entire parish through the pandemic and hurricane recovery, but you do heroe’s work on a daily basis to move our children forward.

Jefferson Parish Schools is the most diverse school system in Louisiana, which is something we celebrate and embrace. When you walk our halls, you’ll hear 49 different languages spoken by our 50,000 students. You’ll see a wonderful mix of ethnicities, children whose families have deep roots in Jefferson Parish, as well as newcomers to our country. As the second largest employer in Jefferson Parish, our employees are as diverse and culturally rich as our families and community. Our diversity is our greatest asset.

Our school board members made the right decision by listening to the community, recognizing the severity of the situation, and being proactive in the solution. They have and will continue to understand the value of our educators. They are committed to the success of all who enter our doors. I’ve enjoyed a productive, student-centered relationship with our board members since becoming superintendent, and I look forward to continuing our work together.  

Dr. James Gray

School Board Statement:  

On January 5, 2022, the Jefferson Parish School Board filled the position vacated by the resignation of District 6 Board member Mr. Larry Dale with Mr. Rafael Rafidi. Mr. Rafidi was the only candidate that stepped forward. He presented himself as a family man of strong faith with a commitment to education. He is the son of immigrants and fluent in Arabic and Spanish, languages prevalent in the constituency of District 6 and our system as a whole. He is also a successful business entrepreneur. All of these attributes led us to believe in Mr. Rafidi’s commitment to diversity and ability to represent our diverse school system.

After his nomination and appointment, a number of Mr. Rafidi’s social media posts emerged. When we made his appointment, the board was not aware of these social media posts. We apologize for this oversight and understand our stakeholder’s concerns.

The non-civil tone, profane language and generalized condemnation of opposing ideological groups is indefensible and inconsistent with the Board’s objective of unity and mutual respect. We specifically take exception to his post demeaning teachers. The teachers of Jefferson Parish are foundational to the success we have seen during this crisis. Their extraordinary dedication and sacrifice have been recognized statewide and regionally as other school systems followed our lead in returning children to the classroom. We believe that these posts will continue to distract from the achievements we have realized during these challenging times and hinder our district’s goal of providing the education our students deserve. We strongly believe that the lingering effect of Mr. Rafidi’s provocative positions will render him ineffective as a District representative and School Board member, and we have asked Mr. Rafidi to resign.

Jefferson Parish School Board

According to Nola.com, seven of the nine board members voted for Rafidi, while board member Ricky Johnson voted against him and Simeon Dickerson abstained; the next day, Dickerson voted for Rafidi’s removal and wants Rafidi to resign. 

“I actually watched this guy take an oath to the Constitution, the very Constitution that he tried to overthrow just a year ago—the irony of it,” Dickerson told The Daily Beast. “He attended the insurrection and he marched on the Capitol.”

All it would have taken was a quick look into Rafidi’s social media to see what a complete and utter dumpster fire he was. 

In Feb. 2021, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu tweeted his praise for Sen. Bill Cassidy for voting to impeach Trump. Rafidi replied, calling  Sen. John Kennedy “an embarrassment” for voting against impeachment.

“Go f–k yourselves,” Rafidi tweeted. And in another tweet, he called Cassidy a “piece of s—t” and Landrieu a “f—–g traitor.”

Although it isn’t clear from any of his social media whether Rafidi entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, on Jan. 13, he did tweet-brag about his time at the rally. 

“I was there, heard the entire speech, and walked peacefully with thousands singing God bless America and praying on the way to the capital. What’s true now for sure is the FIX IS IN! And it’s all of you in the media and government. What a shame!”

And long before the pandemic forced teachers into a virtual and unwieldy position of teaching from home, in 2018, Rafidi was attacking them on social media. 

“Teachers are the fall of our young people in this country. No values, no work ethic, and just suck as much as you can from those that work hard. Good job,” he tweeted. 

“I know some hard-working teachers in Jefferson Parish that bust their tills every day,” Dickerson told The Daily Beast. “It’s a direct slap in the face and he’s unfit to serve as a school board member. This is not what Jefferson Parish represents and this is not what a school board member represents.”

If all that isn’t enough, Rafidi has a serious racist streak. He recently tweeted his criticism about the NFL playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem. 

Take note: the school district he’s been sworn into, according to its website, serves roughly 50,000 students—about 38% of its student population is Black. 

“This guy can do more damage in six months than all of us can do in eight years,” Dickerson told The Daily Beast. “He’s bad for the progression of race relations in Jefferson Parish.”