| Cross-posted from NJ Tammany.
From the Jersey Journal editorial page:
Just a glimpse of some expenses incurred by Charles T. Epps Jr. on a nine-day London trip in summer 2004 makes him a poster child for those who say that giving additional state aid to for poorer school districts is a waste.
First of all, I have to wonder exactly what a trip to London has to do with running the Jersey City schools. The British educational system isn't even remotely similar to ours. See, they teach kids to read and write and use reasoning skills. |
Epps made the trip, with an associate, to speak at the Oxford Roundtable, a leadership meeting for educators. The superintendent spent $500 on a one-night stay at a luxury hotel and $470 for an apartment he stayed at another night, according to vouchers. He spent $400 on chauffeured limousine service and $260 for a car hire service. Then there was that dinner at London's historic Rules Restaurant, where the check included $160 for two ribs of beef dinners and $25 for two bowls of asparagus soup.
Ah, well, of course, he should go to Oxford. What a complete waste of time! Epps should go no further than the nearest non-Abbott district so he could learn how to get the state off of the schools' back. Of course, he doesn't want to do that because then he'd be out of a do-nothing job. With travel benefits.
Epps has not returned telephone calls for comment - as usual. The state assemblyman for the 31st District/superintendent of schools did talk to a radio reporter and said he should have reconsidered some of the expenses. All this is coming from someone who went to a leadership conference.
A more truthful statement should be "Epps has not yet pulled his head far enough out of his posterior to speak the truth. He has made no offer to repay his illegal, immoral, and unethical theft of public funds."
Epps wouldn't know leadership if it slapped him in the testicles.
London was not the only trip by school officials. There was a 2003 jaunt to San Francisco by Epps, an Orlando, Fla., a trip by six school employees in 2003, an 11-employee visit to Phoenix, Ariz., and even a March 2004 trip to a Teaneck conference that required overnight lodging, although it was only 12 miles from Jersey City.
Hey, I know traffic between JC and Teaneck can be a problem. So go have another $160 beef dinner. Who the Hell wants to take an overnight trip to Teaneck anyway?
The state, which pays these expenses, and the local school board members, who do not ask questions, are as much to blame as Epps. The district cannot afford these junkets and the state should stop them.
Right. But the buck stops with the Prince hired to do a peasant's job. Epps is 100% responsible for his actions. The lack of oversight is a completely separate issue that should be taken up at the polls. The de facto theft of public funds by using expense accounts and paid trips for what is clearly not official business should be prosecuted with extreme prejudice. It's far beyond time for Jersey City to stop playing patty-cakes with criminals who violate the public trust. |
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