A special Atlantic City Board of Education meeting that was to discuss the ongoing superintendent search and unspecified legal matters has been canceled.
No public reason was given for the decision, which was announced on the district's website just hours after the Zoom link to attend the meeting virtually was posted there.
Sources tell BreakingAC that the meeting was canceled with the explanation that the board president will be choosing the committee to select the new superintendent.
Board President Shay Steele is one of five board members who are conflicted from participating in the decision because they have relatives who work for the school district.
Any previous votes involving the superintendent search have been made under the Doctrine of Necessity, which allows members who have a conflict to vote only on that part of the issue in order to have a quorum.
Steele previously sent out a letter to the NAACP asking for them to participate in the new search before the board even voted to start one. Solicitor Tracy Riley — who recommended the votes be under the doctrine — has refused to comment on why Steele would be allowed to participate in that way when the doctrine statute clearly states conflicted members' sole involvement is for the doctrine vote only.
Steele, whose wife and father both work for the district, has also declined comment.
What is known is that the board is looking to restart the search for its next superintendent in light of Barry Caldwell's delayed retirement after a halted search cost taxpayers $25,000.
The original search came to an abrupt end after questions about the residency of board member Farook Hossain, who was a member of the search committee.
“The superintendent, Barry Caldwell, recently brought a matter of concern to my attention and has requested that this matter be referred to your office,” Riley wrote in the Aug. 21 letter that included 12 pages of documents the solicitor attached as evidence.
It is not clear how much time — or taxpayer money — Riley spent on the letter, which was done without the board's knowledge.
Riley has insisted at meetings that she is the board's solicitor, but has refused to answer questions as to how that fits with her actions in representing Caldwell's interests without board input.
The ensuing Prosecutor's Office investigation led to questions about Hossain's residency. No charges have been filed, but it remains part of a pending petition to remove Hossain from the board.
But the issue successfully ended the superintendent search, which recently cleared the way for Caldwell to have his contract extended by a year, with a raise of more than 12½ percent.
He has said he will leave as soon as the board chooses a new superintendent. But regardless of how long that is, the calculation for his pension will now take into account the higher salary.
Tuesday's meeting was not announced online until around 5 p.m. Monday, with no agenda available.
It was canceled just as quietly.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for 6 p.m. next Tuesday. The public is able to attend via Zoom or in person at the CitiCenter Building, 1300 Atlantic Ave.
(NOTE: This story originally ran July 12. It has been updated to include the meeting's cancelation.)
