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I think one challenge here is that, in public, the people who oppose Epps have come up with a really weak case against him.

The chief criticisms seem to be that he's a political player, that he works fairly short hours, that he appoints political friends to key positions, and that the schools still aren't all that great.

But, so far, even though I've been to various meetings concerning the schools, that's the worst stuff I can list, which doesn't seem all that terrible to me. (Example: even if Epps comes in late in the morning, how do we know he wasn't participating in conference calls or doing some other work at home?)

Maybe the people I meet secretly have lots of stories about Epps shafting schools to get back at his enemies or embezzling money or something like that, but no one is gossiping about that sort of thing in such a way that I can hear the gossip.

When I watch school board proceedings on Comcast Channel 1, it seems as if Epps is pretty quiet but says sensible things when he does speak.

I think my daughter's school has a principal who was appointed by Epps, and, as far as I can tell, the principal and the assistant principal seem to be bright people who really care about the kids.

My guess is that Epps and the state have the most ability to control relatively new programs, such as the pre-K program, and the pre-K program is very good.

I also get the general sense that, at this point, all of the downtown schools and most of the Heights grade schools, at least, are functioning pretty well as schools, and I think a lot of the lingering problems are really security/society problems (e.g., the wild young boys walking to and hanging out around P.S. 37/Cordero (Hamilton Park school)) rather than failed school district problems.

I'm still not sure whether even the "good schools" here are great about things such as the teachers speaking polite standard English in front of the children or teaching topics such as how to avoid using dangling participles. But the schools actually seem to be making heroic efforts to avoid "worksheet mania."

Of course, there are some famous problems with middle schools and high schools here, but, as far as I can tell, it sounds as if Snyder and Dickinson, for example, offer a lot of decent classes and probably are providing a decent education for the kids who are behaving well enough to be educable.

To negotiate Epps pact
Thursday, January 17, 2008

The Jersey City Board of Education has hired attorney Richard Bauch, a partner in the Morristown-based law firm Schenk, Price, Smith & King, to negotiate a new three-year contract with Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr.

Appointed by the state seven years ago to run the district, Epps' contract ends June 30. He is currently paid $230,000 a year. In September, the board voted unanimously to offer Epps a new contract.

Last summer, the state Department of Education returned powers of governance and finance to the local school board. The board voted to hire Bauch last month.

According to the resolution, Bauch will be paid $175 per hour and no more than $15,000. Epps, 63, is represented by his own personal attorney, Maria Lepore, chief counsel for the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, school officials said.

KEN THORBOURNE

My understanding is that the State wants Epps's contract renewed, but the state's attorney warned that the state might no longer have this power given certain portions of control have been given back to local control. I also understand that if the board could simply renew the contract on the spot, at least 6 out of the 9 board members would grant him a renewal.

However, there is a long legal process to follow and that is what the vote back in September was for, to start the process.

My understanding is that the state made the board take Epps. The board didn't really have a choice.

Hiring lawyer to negotiate pact for Epps

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

At the suggestion of Jersey City school board member and former Mayor Gerald McCann, the board agreed Monday to hire an attorney to negotiate a new contract with Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr., a school official said.

Given the state's decision this summer to return powers of governance and finance to the local board, the board wants someone who doesn't work for Epps negotiating with him, said board chairman William DeRosa.

DeRosa said he's been screening attorneys, focusing on "two or three."

The names on his list came from Charlotte Kitler, the district's attorney, the New Jersey School Boards Association, and his own connections as vice president of the Hudson County School Boards Association, DeRosa said.

Although slowed by the Thanksgiving holiday, DeRosa said he hoped to have an attorney chosen by the middle of next week.

"Availability, experience and cost are the areas we're looking into," DeRosa said.

Epps, 63, has been the district's state-appointed superintendent since 2000. His latest contract, which pays $230,000 a year, ends June 30. In their first act as a newly empowered board, the nine members voted unanimously in September to negotiate a new three-year agreement with Epps.

What shocks me is that people are surprised that things worked out this way. We are living in one of the most corrupt cities in one of the most corrupt counties, in a fairly corrupt state. Nothing will change for quite some time....if ever. you have no friends on the board of ed...unless you have cash. don't be so naive

9-0 EPPS VOTE
Contract to be negotiated

Friday, September 21, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JERSEY JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In a 9-0 vote last night, members of the Jersey City Board of Education voted their "intent" to negotiate a new three-year contract with Charles T. Epps Jr., the district's state-appointed superintendent of schools for the past seven years.

Board Chairman William DeRosa said a public hearing will be held on the terms of the contract before it is ratified.

Epps' current three-year contract, which earns him $230,000 a year, ends June 30.

"It's a wonderful feeling," Epps said after yesterday's school board meeting, which was held at School 11 on Bergen Avenue. "I appreciate their confidence. I'm going to strive for the next three years to build their confidence even higher."

None of the six people who spoke during the meeting's public comment session saluted the board's actions - or took issue with it.

A state-run district since 1989, the Jersey City public school system is going through return to local control. After a review of the district's operations that concluded this summer, state officials decided to return powers in the areas of governance and finance to the locally elected school board.

The decision to rehire Epps represents its first - and most likely its most important - act as a newly empowered school board.

Several board members seized the opportunity last night to praise Epps and his staff.

"There has been nothing but positive work being done by all," said board member Anthony Cucci, a former mayor.

Gerald McCann, another former mayor who sits on the board, said the board based its decision to enter into negotiations with Epps in part because of the strong endorsement he was given two weeks ago in a closed-door meeting with state Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy.

Cucci said she told the board they could look across the state and not find anyone better than Epps.

The district has clearly made progress during Epps' tenure in the lower grades and last year received the prestigious Broad Foundation Prize for closing the achievement gap.

But test scores at the high school level have lagged and the majority of schools have failed to measure up to standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

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College educated? a professional job? dining at Basic or Madman Claude? That must mean you have.......MONEY.

so how about you fork over a few of those "yuppie" bucks. I really could use them.

and now that you don't have to pay for that private education tuition, you must have some extra to spare?

come on, please...How about I meet you outside the Path station later?

Jersey City ed board votes for three more years for Epps

by Ken Thorbourne -- Jersey Journal
Thursday September 20, 2007, 8:27 PM

In a 9-0 vote tonight, members of the Jersey City Board of Education voted their "intent" to negotiate a new three-year contract with Charles T. Epps Jr., the district's state-appointed superintendent of schools for the past seven years.

Board Chairman William DeRosa explained said a public hearing would be held on the terms of the contract before it is ratified.

Epps' current three-deal, which earns him $230,000 a year, ends June 30.

"It's a wonderful feeling," Epps said after school board meeting, which was held at School 11 on Bergen Avenue. "I appreciate their confidence. I'm going to strive for the next three years to build their confidence even higher."

None of the six people who spoke during the meeting's public comment session either saluted the board's actions or took issue with it.

A state-run district since 1989, the Jersey City public school system is going through a historic return to local control. After a review of the district's operations that concluded this summer, state officials decided to return powers in the areas of governance and finance to the locally elected school board.

The decision to rehire Epps represents their first -- and most likely the most important -- act as a newly empowered school board.

Several board members seized the opportunity last night to praise Epps and his staff.

"There has been nothing but positive work being done by all," said board member Anthony Cucci, a former mayor.

The district has clearly made progress during Epps tenure in the lower grades and last year received the prestigious Broad Foundation Prize for closing the achievement gap.

But test scores at the high school level have lagged and the majority of schools have failed to measure up to standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

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I think you create confusion by claiming "yuppie" kids have special needs, rather than the children who come from disadvantaged homes that were imparted no respect or thirst for knowledge.

I also think you're generalizing your own parenting issues on the rest of us. In my son's LCCS "crunchy feely" classes so far, none of the "yuppie" children have been disruptors of the class. Chew that along with your tofu (which my kids bring for lunch regularly)

I'll use "yuppie" because I hate it when words get devoured by negative connotations. Every word or phrase for Americans of African ancestry has been eventually been "retired", only to have it's replacement fall to the same fate. Even though I'm not strictly a professional and young only in terms of barely being a boomer, I'll embrace being a yuppie given the dearth of adequate alternatives.

How about this one: OBARER

Outer
Borough
Artistic
Real
Estate
Refugee

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That he did.

I'm starting to think that one way to talk about demographics without triggering flamewars would be to classify Jersey City residents as Dr. Searsians; Dr. Spockians; followers of any baby book that has an index; and parents who just follow the principle that you feed the baby, change its diaper and spank it when it starts to mess with your stuff.

Well, that term is either perjorative or dated or both.
yuppie definition



You're better off using "young urban professional". Feel free to yap away

That son of a bitch Dr. Sears messed my head up.

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I now have a child in a public school (beyond the Edge of Known Yuppie Space) and was at the JC Schools meeting Wednesday.

My impression is that Epps probably is corrupt, but that one problem is that none of the reformer type of people have any good yardsticks for measuring how well the schools are really doing or how well Epps is doing.

Example: it seems as if the people who really need for Epps to be a good, effective leader would be the school principals, but I don't think anyone (including me) has even tried to survey the principals to find out what they think of Epps.

Maybe what the state is really trying to tell us, "OK, if you want to kick him out, kick him out, but you figure out how to explain the ejection if he comes back to sue us. Just how is it that you think he's failed the schools?"

Once the school board has control over the district, I think it needs the following information:

- An indicator for how well the buildings are maintained.

- An indicator for how happy the teachers and principals are with the district.

- An indicator for how happy the children are.

- Some kind of achievement indicator. To me, the best indicator would be if you could compare Jersey City school kids with first cousins of those children who attend suburban schools.

He should not be renewed at all but if they must keep him why not just hold him over till the next election where the voters will decide if we have an elected or apointed board.

Epps is sorta like Bush. He's done a horrendous job but is running out the clock until his retirement in 3 years. He's cut his deals with Corzine, Commissioner Davy and the Board of Ed members to make an additional 3 years possible.

He's a pompous, arrogant egomaniac in a monogrammed shirt.

I fully agree with this editorial, however, no matter how you look at this issue, I question this decision making time period. Why not give it a month or two in order for this to become a thoughtful process?

The Commissioner of Education refuses to meet with BOE members or parent led educational advocacy groups from Jersey City, but after being told by the attorney general that she does not have the right to renew a contract with Epps, she speaks to the BOE and one week later a decision will be made?

I am of the understanding that the BOE should be making this decision within the next 5 months, so why take only one week? What is the rush? What about input from parents' groups? Some of which have banging their heads against a wall for years to be heard?

This rush to renew the contract not only seems like blind faith, it seems irresponsible and highly suspicious. I know I will not vote for any of the BOE members who vote for this contract. They claim the children are the most important factor, they claim that parental input is important, they claim to represent the community on educational issues. That's a load of bull.

Come tomorrow they will vote and I will be there watching. I will make sure that I know who voted so quickly for this contract renewal that our community will shoulder and our children will have to live with long after they are voted out.

EDITORIAL JERSEY JOURNAL

Epps does not merit a contract

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Tomorrow, the Jersey City Board of Education is expected to vote on notifying state Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy that they plan to negotiate a three-year contract with Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps. In other words, the school district is willing to reward mediocrity.

The fault does not all lie with local school officials. A great deal of it, if not most, falls on the laps of state government. It was the state that appointed Epps to oversee the Jersey City district. And it was the state that decided to punt the Epps contract into the laps of the local trustees.

This newspaper is against renewing any contract for Epps, who was appointed to run the state's second-largest school district seven years ago, and who is now earning $230,000 a year.

City school trustees said that Davy informed them that if it were in her power, she would give Epps a three-year pact. Davy couched her comments by saying that she could have suggested an option for a five-year contract. Is that reassuring?

What the school board plans to do is load the pact with performance clauses, benchmarks that Epps is expected to meet to realize the full financial benefit of the contract. Just what performance levels and how much compensation can be earned has to be negotiated. His contract expired June 30.

The feeling among trustees is that - excluding the Londongate fiasco where he went to an overseas conference several days early and let taxpayers pay the bills for extras - Epps has done well.

This newspaper questions that assessment. Standardized tests are still low, although there have been some improvements at certain grade levels. This is with the understanding that each year state exams seem to be reworked, and not with the aim of making them tougher.

There also have been questionable overtime payments to school workers.

Worse, Epps believed he could tackle one of the toughest jobs in the state, and run for state office. Two years ago, he was elected an assemblyman. Epps then hired four school district employees to part-time jobs on his Assembly staff.

Epps also cut a donation check from his campaign war chest to school board member Jeff Dublin - who was required to evaluate Epps's performance as superintendent.

This newspaper does not believe Epps has been dedicated to the children in the district. There are not enough district improvements to brag about after seven years of Epps. A district that may one day revert to local control needs stronger leadership and direction.

Satisfied, board will keep Epps

Wednesday, September 19, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In its first act as a newly empowered board, the Jersey City Board of Education is set to publicly endorse a new three-year contract for Charles T. Epps Jr., the district's state-appointed schools chief for the past seven years.

In what's likely to be 9-0 vote, the board plans to pass a resolution supporting a new three-year deal with Epps, 63, at its meeting tomorrow night, several board members confirmed yesterday.

"In Dr. Epps, and in all his staff, I see an energetic, professional team," said board member and former Mayor Anthony Cucci, voicing an opinion in sync with five of the six board members reached yesterday for comment.

"I feel very strongly if you set out looking for another possible superintendent, he (Epps) already possesses the professional attributes you are looking for, and he's homegrown."

Besides Cucci, board members Gerald McCann, Peter Donnelly, Terry Dehere and Angel Valentin all said signing Epps to a long-term contract was a good idea. Suzanne Mack, wouldn't comment, while Ed Cheatam and board chairman William DeRosa did not return several messages. Franklin Williams could not be reached.

Epps' current contract, which pays him $230,000 a year, ends June 30. He didn't return phone calls for comment. Epps is a Jersey City native with 40 years experience as an educator in the district.

In the nation's longest-running state takeover district, the locally elected board hasn't played a role in selecting the district's superintendent since 1989.

But as a result of a review of the district's operations concluded this summer, state officials decided to return control of finance and governance to the locally board. The state will create and monitor "corrective action plans" in three other areas - instruction and program, personnel, and operations management.

Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy met with board members last week and urged them to sign Epps to a new three-year pact, but told them the decision was theirs to make, according to board members.

Board member Terry Dehere credited Epps with putting the district in a position to regain local control.

"Epps has been the captain of this ship," Dehere said. "It's through his work we are even here."

Although the district has received high marks from Davy and board members, the district overall remains a "district in need of improvement" since the majority of schools fail to meet standards outlined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Board members chalked up Epps' well-publicized trip to England in 2004, in which he billed taxpayers for expensive meals, chauffeured limousines and posh hotels, as an expensive "mistake" that was corrected when Epps reimbursed the district $5,000.

Board members now have to negotiate benefits and salary with Epps. McCann speculated the board would hire its own attorney to help.

As one of the so-called Abbott districts in the state, the lion's share of the district's $600 million budget is paid for by the state. Per state law, the terms of Epps's contract will be reviewed by Davy, a spokeswoman for the commissioner said yesterday.

Primarily an observer to this process, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy chose yesterday to "reserve" his opinion on retaining Epps, pending the board's decision.