Superintendent La'Quetta Small
The Atlantic City Board of Education will hold a special meeting Thursday to discuss personnel matters, according to an announcement on the district website.
What those employment matters might be are not detailed, but a vote at last week's budget meeting could give a clue.
A meeting last Friday was held to present the budget.
But the board also voted to approve special counsel "to advise the Atlantic City Board of Education in matters involving the employment of the superintendent."
When asked about approval of David Rubin as special counsel, Board of Education President Shay Steele said only that it involved "employment matters."
When asked what that meant, he simply repeated, "Employment matters," with a shrug.
"Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to discuss this matter," Rubin told BreakingAC in an email.
Rubin's Middlesex County practice is dedicated to education law, commercial disputes, professional responsibility matters and appellate litigation, according to his website.
He "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," the site states.
The board unanimously voted to approve him in the amount of $210 per hour, not to exceed 10 hours without additional board approval
The move came after rumors ran rampant that the board would be taking action involving Superintendent La'Quetta Small.
She and her husband, Mayor Marty Small, have recently come under scrutiny after both were criminally charged for alleged abuse of their 16-year-old daughter.
A tort claim filed on behalf of the girl's boyfriend warned the Smalls, city and the board of potential litigation. It alleges that the Smalls tried to confiscate and destroy evidence in the case.
That evidence, sources tell BreakingAC, was an iPad that the boy was using when he spoke to the Smalls' daughter. The affidavit of probable cause in the first couple's criminal case talks of the iPad, and indicates there is audio of fights that turned violent captured by the device.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday. The announcement on the website does not indicate whether action will be taken.
