Politicians using their position to stick their name on buildings paid for by taxpayers is truly an abomination. I also find the tendency of rich donors demanding that their name be on buildings at private colleges to be less than praiseworthy. Still, even if they are not acting in the best practices of humble philanthropy; at least they are paying their own money.

That anyone in the JC City schools is making $250K really brings to mind the pay for performance that should be expected for anything like that. Not having children in the JC City Schools, I can only hope that they are the Goldman Sachs of schools. Unfortunately, I suspect they are at best the Bear Stearns of schools; yet they will never go out of business.

Quote:

Jersey City school district 'reclaims what has been lost'

by Paul Koepp
Thursday April 17, 2008, 8:55 PM

Residents and school district employees cheered tonight as control of the district, which for 19 years has been under state watch, was put into the hands of Jersey City's elected school board.
School Superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr.

At 7:32 p.m., all nine Board of Education members adopted a transition plan that will restore governance and finance powers to local control.

Holding up the resolution in the gymnasium of School 11, Superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr. said: "This document recaptures what has been forfeited and reclaims what has been lost."

The transfer of power prompted a standing ovation in the front half of the gym occupied by district personnel, and applause from the public seated in the back.

Epps then presented name plates to board Chairman William DeRosa and Vice Chairman Franklin L. Williams with their new titles of "president" and "vice president."

"You can throw those old ones away," he said. "You have some power now."

State Education Department Commissioner Lucille Davy and said that although "the state hasn't always been the best of partners," the evening was "an historic occasion for all of us to celebrate together."

Local control will not be absolute, however.

The district is regaining full oversight in governance and finance, but three other areas -- instruction and program, personnel, and operations management -- will be monitored by the state over the next six months.

Should scores in these areas improve, the district will regain full control over them as well.

The board also unanimously approved a new three-year contract for Epps, which will pay him $250,700 in the upcoming school year, $258,200 the next year and $268,200 in 2010-2011.

While board members said Epps deserved the contract, it received some groans from the audience.

"I don't think Dr. Epps deserves that kind of money because he's not doing the job he's supposed to do," said Edna Williams, the mother of two students at School 34. She added that if it were up to her, Epps would earn just half of what he now takes home.

You said he did good. "Good" is a comparative word.

Comparisons are, by their nature, discriminatory, invidious, never fair, never exact, but you offered a comparison, as if doing good is an excuse for doing bad. What you got back is examples as to why it is not.

I doubt that even the morally vague Mr. Epps would dare offer that justification he abuse of the public trust.

Quote:

The comparisons aren't fair.

And that entitles him to help himself to your tax dollars and to aggrandize himself on a public building constructed during his watch.

Partial list of people who also did a lot of good:

Adolf Hitler (built great highways and loved his dog)
Saddham Hussein (created some lovely palaces)
Bobby Janisewski (kept his office orderly)
Son of Sam (sold a lot of newspapers)
Richard Nixon (was NOT a crook)

Other good things about Mr. Epps.

He always appears in public wearing a shirt and tie.
His name is short.
(gimmie a minute here; I'm thinking; I'm thinking)

Quote:

Dead Serious.

Epps has done a lot of good for a lot of people in this city.

I respect that you have a less sanguine response to the naming. True, the board voted it.

But it happened on his watch, and he did nothing (at least nothing that has ever been revealed) to stop it, starting with a refusal to having anything to do with it or at the very least, objecting to it.

the London trip was just plain wrong.

the naming the building after himself--he doesn't do that--blame the Board members for that--they just named another new school after a current board member (was former superintendent)--but is still alive. but I guess he could have objected to it...

OK - you proven that Epps knows how to write a Wikipedia entry full of self praise - or can afford to pay someone to do that for him.

But you still have not addressed the fact that he abused his position by unauthorized spending of taxpayer money on his own pleasure on a London junket - and has the brass balls to name a public building after himself.

And, as another poster pointed out he has two taxpayer jobs, one that requires a minimum of 40 hours a week and another that requires that he spend many days per week in Trenton.

Some "man."

Rhymes with scam (in the current style of false rhymes)

Rip us off, that's his plan.

Quote:
I'm having trouble deciding if this poster is being sarcastic or not.

Don't be haters.

Epps is the man.

If he can't do it, no one can.


See below.

Charles T. Epps, Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Charles T. Epps Jr. (born June 13, 1944) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2006-2008, where he represented the 31st legislative district, having taken office on January 10, 2006. Epps was elected to the Assembly on November 8, 2005, filling the seat of fellow Democrat Anthony Chiappone, who lost in the primary in his bid for re-election and had held the seat in the Assembly since 2000.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
2 Criticism
3 District 31
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography
Epps is the Jersey City Superintendent of Schools.[1] Epps defeated the incumbent Chiappone in the Democratic primary with the support of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.[2]

Epps served in the Assembly on the Environment and Solid Waste Committee and the Health and Senior Services Committee.[1]

In 2000, the State Board of Education approved Epps as the new State District Superintendent for the Jersey City Public Schools. Epps, who had served as the district?s Associate Superintendent for Community and Support Services since 1998, was recommended to the board by Commissioner David Hespe. Epps has dedicated his entire education career to the Jersey City School District. Since joining the district as a teacher of grades six and seven at the Whitney M. Young School in 1967, Epps has worked his way up through the ranks of the district as a teacher, supervisor, principal of adult evening programs, and director of funded programs.

Many of Jersey City's record nine Best Practices awards received from the New Jersey Department of Education in 1998-2000 were for programs overseen or founded by Dr. Epps.[3] He took a leadership role in the district's efforts to reduce the drop-out rate, which had fallen from a high of 14.6% to three straight years at 10% or lower, starting in the late 1990s.

Epps has served as Chairman of the Hudson County Community College Board of Trustees, where he helped establish the Opportunity Knocks scholarship program allowing graduating seniors in Jersey City to attend Hudson County Community College tuition-free.

Epps has long been active in the community and serves on several advisory boards, including the National Conference on Community and Justice, the Hudson Cradle advisory board, the Hudson County Schools of Technology advisory board, and the Jersey City welfare board. In 1999, he was recognized by both the NAACP (Outstanding Educator award) and the National Urban League (A Man for All Men award) for his contributions to Jersey City and its public school system.

Epps received a B.A. in Education at Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, followed by a Masters degree in Education from Seton Hall University and a doctorate in education from Rutgers University.[1]


[edit] Criticism
There is much criticism of Mr. Epps' pay as superintendent (over $210,000 annually), particularly because Epps also is a member of the New Jersey Legislature ($49,000 annual pay) and the Jersey City Public Schools is one of the lowest performers in the state.

As the Trenton Times editorialized about Mr Epps in an unsigned attack on double-dippers in state government: "Assemblyman Charles Epps Jr., D-Jersey City, spends at least two days a week at the State House, which is time when he's not back home running the troubled Jersey City school district, for which he receives $210,520 a year as superintendent."

In May 2006, Epps fell under attack by Assembly colleagues after the New Jersey 101.5 radio station reported on lavish expenses incurred by Epps on a trip to England -- including a $500+/night hotel room -- all paid for by taxpayers. A number of politicians called for his resignation as evidence of his fiscal irresponsibility surfaced. [4]


[edit] District 31
Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The other representatives from the 31st Legislative District for the 2006-2007 Legislative Session were:

Assemblyman Louis Manzo, and
Senator Joseph Doria

[edit] References
^ a b c Assemblyman Epps' Legislative Website, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed July 30, 2007.
^ Donohue, Joe. "Voters unseat two assemblymen: Handlin beats GOP veteran Azzolina as Epps ousts Democrat Chiappone in primaries", The Star-Ledger, June 8, 2005. Accessed August 1, 2007. "Another departing incumbent will be first-term Democrat Anthony Chiappone in Hudson County. Chiappone, a Bayonne council member, became vulnerable after the May 2004 death of his chief ally, Jersey City Mayor and state Sen. Glenn Cunningham. He was defeated by Charles Epps Jr., the Jersey City superintendent of schools and the party's preferred running mate for Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D-Hudson)."
^ Hudson County: Best Practices Award Winners, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed August 4, 2007.
^ He broke his own rule: Epps' London trip violated $$ limits he implemented, Jersey Journal, May 13, 2006.

[edit] External links

Yes Pazman, please elaborate. On its face in looking at the article, it appears to be a slam dunk on more municipal profligate spending which doesn't seem warranted given the state of the area schools. However, as I don't have children, I admittedly may be out of the loop.

Quote:

*Citation needed.

Epps is a good man. He is our man. Leave him alone.

Where is Arnold "Shame Shame" Diaz or Tappy "Channel 7 On Your Side" Phillips when you need them? Such excessive waste.

Quote:

...words fail me.

Quote:

He might have well have a piece of bling around his neck that says "NO SHAME".

People should at least be dead before you name stuff after them, if not long dead. Can you imagine serving in the Persian Gulf on the soon to be commissioned carrier USS George H. W. Bush?

Mean of Average Salaries Paid in Reporting School Systems By Enrollment Group, 2006-2007

http://www.aasa.org/career/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2295

from American Association of School Administrators

Position New England Mideast Southeast Great Lakes Plains Southwest Rocky Mts. Farwest
Superintendent
(Contract Salary) $139,664 $144,999 $116,619 $117,450 $109,353 $103,678 $96,038 $138,803


Seems like NJ is getting ripped off.

According to the wiki page the superindent job is more than a 40 hour a week job, there is no way you could do this job effectively and hold down another post.

People need to think of this when they pay their NJ income + property taxes.

I look at it as Jersey City getting a bargain compared to neighboring towns who pay their supers comparably for much smaller districts. He gets a 3% payraise in year 2--most executives would be offended by such a small increase. Like him or not--test results have increased with him at the helm and if you spend any time in any JC Public school you will see some great things going on--they are not all as scary as the journal would make you think.

That's great he gets a giant pay hike, the city is claiming poverty and the school system is going down hill. Everyone I know is putting thier kids in private school because they want them to get a good education or moving out of the city because the programs in other public school systems are better. They keep claiming that they don't have the money to provide the students with modern educational materials, but they have the money to give him a huge pay increase. I've seen children who can barely print thier names clearly.

Put that money to good use, create more after school tutoring programs, maybe more student aides to work in the classrooms to help the teachers out, after all they say the classrooms are over crowded.

I *think* Epps was forced to give up the state legislature job...

but here's a site with some scanned and retyped articles on Epps (including his $21K London trip...)

http://www.talkingpolitics.net/Charles-Epps.htm

The link below has been posted a few times before... It doesn't compare states but you can drill down by town/city.

New Jersey Public Payroll

Don't forget also he pulls down another $49,000 per year as our state assemblyman - which requires him to be in Trenton at least two days a week (according to a news report I read).

So he double dips New Jersey for two salaries and two pensions.

This is the guy who had a wonderful, high level visit to London, all on our dime. First class plane tix, suite in one of London's most expensive hotels, ate at the very best restaurants, as if he were the owner of a major corporation, not the public servant of a community of hard-working families.

He paid back money (maybe all, maybe some, I don't recall) only after he was caught.

I still don't understand why he was not indicted and prosecuted. That he continues in office with this huge salary and its generous perks is a sad comment on local politics and public apathy.

If that doesn't tick you off, Epps is the guy who put his own name on a new school built with tax money during his tenure.

Well, on the bright side, his example is, I am sure, instructive to future robber barons and anyone else with an eye on the public teat.

that seems pretty ridiculous... not necessarily epps' pay, but the pay of the position in general. i'd be interested to see how much superintendents in other counties make (or even at a national level). understandably, it should be a little higher around here, but i'd be worried if a superintendent in arizona were making 90k - 100k a year, when the people in hudson county were making twice that

Next time someone complains about lack of funding for schools I'm going to point them to this article.

Is Epps part of the teachers union? I'm surprised they allow the superintendents to get away with this.

Epps' pay would climb to $275G in 3 years

Monday, April 14, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Good morning, boys and girls. Can you count to a quarter million?

Jersey City Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr. is expected to ink a new three-year deal this week that will pay him $252,000 a year starting July 1, bump him up to $260,000 next year, and pay $275,000 the third year, according to persons familiar with the negotiations.

The agreement represents a roughly 4 percent hike for the 63-year-old schools chief who's been hauling down nearly $242,000 a year, including his $1,000 a month housing allowance, for running the state's second-largest school system.

"I think that's kind of a lot of money, while teachers go underpaid," School 11 parent Frank Ramos said about Epps's anticipated pay raise. adding: "I didn't even know he was the superintendent."

No school official would confirm the new salary figures, and through his spokesman, Epps would only say, "There is no finalized contract as yet."

A public hearing on the new pact is scheduled for Thursday, 5 p.m. at School 11, 886 Bergen Ave., when the attorney who negotiated the deal on behalf of the school board is expected to make a presentation.

Even before the anticipated raise, Epps was one of the highest-paid public officials in Hudson County, out-earning both Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy ($118,000) and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise ($133,000).

But compared to other superintendents, Epps's deal represents the going rate. For example, the superintendent of Newark - Marion A. Bolden - makes $270,000 a year.

And West New York's schools chief Robert Van Zanten is paid $231,000 a year to run a 7,000-student district that is less than a quarter of the size of the Jersey City school district, which has 30,000 students. Union City's schools boss Stanley Sanger is paid $202,000 a year in a district with 11,000 students. North Bergen Superintendent Robert Dandorph earns $198,000 a year for running a 8,000-student system.

"This is one position throughout the nation that has been able to command these kind of salaries," said Mike Yaple, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, which is also a headhunter for school bosses.

"Around 1990, the typical support search yielded 100 applications," Yaple said. "Now if we get one or two dozen, you are doing well."

As teacher salaries rise, administrative and superintendent jobs become less attractive, he said.

Besides, Yaple added, superintendents don't get summers off.