Rancocas Valley board grants Carty leave, but does it have the power to do so?

The Rancocas Valley Regional High School Board of Education has granted Jason Carty a leave of absence from his seat as he fights election fraud and domestic violence charges, but two education law experts told the New Jersey Globe that state law provides no mechanism for an elected school board member to formally take a leave.

Carty, who holds the Lumberton seat on the board, asked to step away from his elected post through December 31, and the board voted Tuesday to approve his request, effective immediately.

Board President Jesse Adams informed parents of the action in a letter Wednesday, saying the board had reviewed Carty’s request with its attorney and determined that granting the leave was “in the best interest of both Mr. Carty and the RVRHS school district.”

But two attorneys with expertise in New Jersey education law told the Globe they found no statutory authority allowing a local school board to place an elected member on a voluntary leave of absence.

State law provides procedures for a school board member to resign or be removed from office, including for excessive absences, while the School Ethics Act provides sanctions that can include suspension or removal for ethics violations.  But the education law experts said those provisions do not create an option for a board to formally grant an elected member a temporary leave while allowing the member to retain the office.

The distinction could raise questions about Carty’s status through the end of the year and whether the board’s action has any legal effect beyond Carty voluntarily agreeing not to participate in meetings or other board business.  It might take a local resident to challenge the board action.

The school board’s attorney, Frank Cavallo, did not immediately respond to a voicemail and text message left on his cell phone.

Carty, a veteran Democratic operative and controversial figure in Burlington County politics, is facing multiple criminal charges in two separate cases.

In August, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office charged Carty and his estranged wife, Lumberton Township Committeewoman Gina LaPlaca, in connection with allegedly fraudulent signatures on LaPlaca’s nominating petition for the June Democratic primary.  Prosecutors allege that some voters whose names appeared on the petition said they had neither signed it nor authorized anyone else to sign for them.

Prosecutors charged Carty with knowingly filing a false petition, two counts of tampering with public records or information, and falsifying or tampering with records.  LaPlaca faces additional charges in the case. Both are scheduled to make their first appearances in Superior Court in Mount Holly on September 21.

Carty is also fighting domestic violence charges involving LaPlaca.  He was charged in May with aggravated assault by strangulation and harassment following an incident at their Lumberton home. LaPlaca initially accused Carty of trying to strangle her, but later recanted the allegation in a sworn statement and asked prosecutors to dismiss the charge.  Carty has denied assaulting her.  The charge remains pending.

He was arrested earlier this month again on a domestic violence charge stemming from another incident involving LaPlaca.

According to the criminal complaint, LaPlaca alleged that Carty pushed her down a flight of stairs during an argument over custody of their 4-year-old son while she was holding the child.

LaPlaca told police that Carty had tried to take their son from her, but that the boy did not want to go with him and did not feel safe.  Prosecutors allege that the fall left LaPlaca with a laceration and bruising around her right eye and a cut on her right arm; police records also state that a child was present and placed at risk during the alleged assault.  Carty was charged with third-degree aggravated assault.

The mounting legal problems had already prompted scrutiny of Carty’s continued service on the school board.  In June, Adams notified residents that Carty was under investigation following the first domestic violence case and said any action against a board member would follow legal due process.

Carty has also lost another government position.  Earlier this month, a Superior Court judge voided his appointment as Mount Holly’s fire director, removing him from the post.