Memo says A.C. High School principal followed district policy in reporting ex-employee's inappropriate conduct

School board Solicitor Tracy Riley also determined that the employee, former substitute teacher Kayan Frazier, was not living in the home of his cousin, Atlantic City High School Principal La’Quetta Small — Mayor Marty Small Sr.’s wife — during the timeframe he was allegedly engaging in lewd behavior with a third-grade male student.

Riley’s memo addresses questions posed by Atlantic City Board of Education members at an Oct. 13 special meeting to determine whether an independent investigation into the district’s handling of Frazier’s alleged misconduct was needed.

The ACBOE ultimately voted 6-4 on Oct. 20 to hire a yet-to-be-named outside law firm to look into the matter.

Board President John Devlin declined to comment on Riley’s memo when contacted Monday other than to say he had received it and still supported an investigation being conducted by an independent firm.

At the Oct. 13 special meeting, several board members raised questions about whether La’Quetta Small, who was principal of the elementary school where Frazier was substituting at the time the alleged incident occurred, should have contacted law enforcement when she became aware that Frazier had been allowing a student to stay overnight at his apartment. Additionally, school board members questioned whether the board was properly notified and expressed concerns over any liability.

Riley concluded that the board followed all policies when Frazier was initially hired and that La’Quetta Small had “complied” with the district’s policies for reporting his inappropriate actions. Furthermore, Riley’s investigation found that Frazier had moved out of the Small’s home in 2015, while the alleged incidents took place in 2017.

Frazier’s 2014 voter registration lists the Small’s home as his residential address. He last voted in 2018, according to public records, but never updated the address.

Riley stated in the memo that she was advised by the district’s state-appointed monitor, Carole Morris, to cease her investigation of the matter.

“Since I am unable to complete my investigation, I did want to provide (the school board) with the information that I have acquired,” Riley wrote in the memo.

The outside counsel’s investigation will seek to clarify the circumstances surrounding Frazier’s inappropriate contact with the male student, his subsequent termination, the district’s liability and whether La’Quetta Small — who was principal of Pennsylvania Avenue School at the time — followed proper procedures in reporting the alleged incidents.

Frazier, of Somers Point, has been charged with one count each of producing visual depictions of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct, receipt of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. He is currently in federal custody.

According to court documents, Frazier was employed by the district from March 2015 to June 2016 and worked in the district through a third-party provider of substitute teachers during the 2016-17 school year.

La’Quetta Small reported unprofessional conduct by Frazier to the state Department of Child Protection and Permanency in February 2017, according to the court filings. In March 2017, the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit within the state Department of Children and Families initiated an investigation concerning Frazier’s employment in Atlantic City schools. He was fired from his position, federal court documents show.

Atlantic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John M. Flammer informed Riley that the state Department of Children and Families contacted the county prosecutor’s office in March 2017, according to a letter attached to Riley’s memo.

After being removed from the district, Frazier got a job with the Department of Child Protection and Permanency, court documents show. He was charged in April 2019 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with allegedly receiving, distributing and producing images of child sexual abuse.