A request by some Atlanta school board members for an outside review of Superintendent Beverly Hall's employment contract will likely be honored, after the city school system's lawyer said the matter needed no vote and could potentially create a conflict if she did the review herself.
Atlanta Public Schools general counsel Veleter Mazyck e-mailed board members clarifying what she would do about the request following a chaotic meeting Friday afternoon. That was when board Chairman Khaatim Sherrer El announced the review but then backtracked immediately afterward as other members protested the board neither publicly discussed nor reached any sort of consensus on the issue.
"The selection of counsel to advise the board regarding the superintendent's contract is an administrative matter that does not require board action," according to board policy, Mazyck said. "In light of the fact that I provide advice and counsel to the board and the superintendent, I have determined that outside counsel will be secured to advise the board on matters related to the superintendent's contract."
A request to consider such a review was made by members Nancy Meister, Yolanda Johnson and Brenda Muhammad, after investigators alleged the school system misled them, hid evidence and retaliated against a witness in efforts to hamper an ongoing state review of possible widespread test tampering in Atlanta schools.
Hall announced months ago she will leave the system June 30. Her contract allows the board to dismiss her for cause or requires a three-fourths vote -- seven of the board's nine members -- to initiate a buyout of the remaining months of her 12-year tenure.
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