School Workers Raise Money for Suspended Hartford, Conn., Teacher

A Connecticut teacher suspended without pay after he allegedly used an anti-gay term in remarks to a student in class was the beneficiary of a controversial fundraiser last week, staged by colleagues seeking to help him financially.

Robert Williams, 50, a mathematics teacher at Quirk Middle School in Hartford, was suspended for a month at the beginning of this school year, after an investigation by the 24,000-student district. The alleged remark was made last spring; the suspension began Aug. 28 and is to last through Oct. 11.

Edwin Vargas Jr., a former president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers, arranged the benefit at a local restaurant to help support Mr. Williams while he is without a salary. He earns $72,000 a year,...