Atlantic City, NJ Mayor & Wife Get Union Leader of Their Choice

The results are in.

The Atlantic City Education Association has a new President … and, it’s exactly the person that Atlantic City Mayor (Marty Small) and Atlantic City Superintendent of Public Schools (La’Quetta Small) wanted.

Former union president Tim Mancuso is retiring, effective June 30, 2024 and he did not seek election for another term.

This is not unique to Marty and La’Quetta Small. All administrations love to have union leaders that are friendly to them … and, whenever possible, they want to control them if they can.

The new union president is Stacy Sweeny. I never heard of her before this election, however, multiple Atlantic City sources have confirmed that she is very good friends with La’Quetta Small.

Here are the election results:

This result has many certified and supportive staff members of the Atlantic City public schools worried that they will not have strong and supportive leadership representing them at the collective bargaining table and during grievance matters.

The first thing that Sweeny did was to notify the grievance committee leadership that they were out.

We have confirmed that Sweeny has replaced the current grievance committee chair without delay.

We have obtained a copy of her letter to the affected persons.

It was sent to Richard Branco and Crysty Jenkins. The letter was sent on June 6, 2024 at 8:26 a.m.

It reads:

Thank you for your service as the Grievance Chair of Atlantic City Education Association from June 1, 2022, to Wednesday, June 5, 2024.

However, I have chosen to fill that position with a member who fits the current vision of Atlantic City Education Association. I will be posting other positions for committees within the union that you can sign up for that may spark your interest and utilize your talents to propel our organization in the future.

Thank you very much.

In solidarity,

Stacey B. Sweeny M. Ed.

Former Atlantic City Board of Education President John Devlin said, “the younger teachers are starting to apply in other districts. As best they can, they want to get out of Atlantic City before they have too many years in. With the way the enrollment is going there will have to be a riff somewhere down the line,” said Devlin.

We have conducted many interviews with Devlin, who has sounded the alarm that there is a serious problem with declining enrollment in the Atlantic City Public Schools.

It remains to be seen who will fit the new “current vision of Atlantic City Education Association.”

Is that “new” agenda a pro-union one, or, is it pro Marty and La’Quetta Small?

Only time will tell, but, the selection of a Small friend and the immediate changes made have not inspired confidence within the rank-and-file.

SOURCE: John Devlin, former President of the Atlantic City Board of Education.