DOE Must Investigate Assemblyman / Superintendent Epps' 'Excellent Adventure' to London
GOP Asks Roberts if $13,000 Trip to London Would Be Eliminated Under CORE (O is for Overriding Waste in Schools!) ProposalTrenton, NJ - Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson issued the following statement today:

"While working at his other taxpayer funded job as the full-time Superintendent of Schools in Jersey City, Assemblyman Charles Epps violated school policies and spent $13,000 on a lavish trip to London that featured $500 a night luxury hotel rooms, $250 meals, and limousine rides. As an Abbott District, Jersey City schools receive almost all their funding from state taxpayers, which means that Assemblyman Epps' junket was paid for with state taxpayer money. The taxpayers deserve to know what they paid for and what value they received for Assemblyman Epps' excellent adventure to London.

Commissioner Davy should immediately launch an investigation into the expenses incurred on this trip and determine what value the taxpayers and the children of Jersey City received. Superintendent Epps has refused to provide any details about this trip. What other staff traveled to this conference? Did anyone other than district personnel attend the conference at taxpayer expense? Who was the other person staying in Superintendent Epps' room? Why weren't district personnel, including Superintendent Epps, required to eat the meals and sleep in the room that was included in the $8,195 all-inclusive rate paid by the district for attendees? Why was Assemblyman Epps reimbursed for any expenses incurred in London during the four days prior to the conference? Commissioner Davy must invoke her authority under the takeover law to immediately impose the controls necessary to ensure that no more money is wasted by Assemblyman / Superintendent Epps.

Speaker Roberts has made 'overriding waste in school' one of the pillars of his property tax reform plan. So far, Assemblyman Manzo has been the only Democrat to take the taxpayers' side and call for Assemblyman Epps to pay the taxpayers back. From Senator Menendez to Governor Corzine, the rest of Assemblyman Epps' fellow Democrats have been silent on this flagrant abuse of the taxpayers' trust.

It is time to see if the Speaker really means what he says or whether he believes that there should be different rules for Assemblymen. If he is serious, he'll join me in calling for Commissioner Davy to conduct a full and comprehensive review of Assemblyman Epps' conduct as Superintendent. I also hope that Speaker Roberts won't be appointing Assemblyman Epps to the soon to be authorized School Aid Formula Reform & Accountability Task Force."

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