Atlantic City Superintendent of Schools La'Quetta Small
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY and LYNDA COHEN
Ventnor City Mayor Lance Landgraf and Ventnor Board of Education President Douglas Biagi sent a letter May 15 to Atlantic City Board of Education President Shay Steele, asking the board to remove Superintendent La'Quetta Small from her post amid concerns about the safety of Ventnor's high school aged students.
Ventnor is a sending district to Atlantic City High School but has no representation or voting power on the Atlantic City Board of Education because it sends less than 10% of the student body to the high school.
Landgraf said Friday morning that although the letter contains his signature, the other members of the Board of Commissioners approved it. Discussions were held through the intervention of the city's administrator, Tom Ciccarone, Landgraf said.
We gave Atlantic City every opportunity to do the right thing, Landgraf said, but so far there has been no action.
The letter states that Ventnor is extremely concerned by the inaction of you and the other members of the ACBOE concerning criminal charges against both the high school principal and superintendent.
While Small has been accused of allegedly abusing her own daughter who is a student at the high school, the principal has failed to report the abuse in what appears to be&a dereliction of her ethical duties to the children of the district.
The letter accuses the board of violating its own policies.
The ACBOE's allowance of the Superintendent to continue to administer Atlantic City schools at the highest level is of significant concern to the community of Ventnor who send their children to school there, the letter states.
The letter quotes the board's own Code of Ethics, which states representative governments hold the respect and confidence of the people, and that board members must avoid conduct that violates the public trust. To ensure that confidence, the board has standards and disciplinary measures that must apply.
The administration of the Atlantic City school district directly impacts Ventnor and other sending district students∧ public confidence in these administrators is very low at this time, Landgraf and Biagi wrote. We believe the superintendent should not be allowed to continue in a leadership role, with influence over our children while these charges are pending&We implore you to do the right thing by the students which you are sworn to serve.
Letter to Atlantic City Board of Education
Small and her husband, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., are accused of abusing their 16-year-old daughter on multiple occasions.
She has continued to lead the school district despite the pending abuse and child endangerment allegations without a word from the elected board despite three meetings since she and her husband were charged.
At last Thursday's meeting, the group voted on a doctrine of necessity that will allow the five members conflicted from making decisions about the superintendent to participate in the process, Steele explained. He and fellow board members Patricia Bailey, Walter Johnson, Kashawn McKinley and Ruth Byard all have family members employed by the district. McKinley himself is employed by the city working directly for the mayor.
Although there was no comment from the dais following the executive session, another step may have been made behind the scenes, according to a report on BreakingAC.
Attorney David Rubin was quietly ushered into the executive session by board solicitor Tracey Riley about 15 minutes after the board voted to enter closed session.
Rubin was approved two weeks ago as special counsel "to advise the Atlantic City Board of Education in matters involving the employment of the superintendent."
He will be paid $210 per hour not to exceed 10 hours without further board approval.
The Middlesex County-based attorney "has achieved national prominence of the field of education law through his representation of numerous public school districts and private schools throughout New Jersey, his longstanding leadership role in the National School Boards Association's 3000-member Council of School Attorneys (COSA), and his reputation as a frequent author on school law issues and a sought-after speaker at conferences and seminars throughout the country," according to his website.
He previously told BreakingAC that he could not comment on the issue.
A regular school board meeting is set for next Tuesday, May 21. It's uncertain if action or comments will be forthcoming.
Mayor Marty Small made an appearance at Thursday's meeting. About 40 minutes into the executive session, interim Principal Donald Harris took him back into another room, presumably to be with his wife who was not in the closed session, according to a source.
The board returned from the executive session and then adjourned.
"We can't comment," Riley told BreakingAC.
La'Quetta and Marty Small were scheduled for their first court appearance May 15, but their attorneys separately waived that hearing.
They are now scheduled to appear for a pre-indictment conference on June 17 before Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury.
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