Charles Thomas Epps Jr. (June 13, 1944 – March 20, 2015) was an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2006 to 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.
[4] 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.
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 $240,022 a year as superintendent."
[6] The number (and salaries) of administrative staff housed at the Jersey City Board of Education has increased substantially in the 10 years since Epps became superintendent.
While the school district is faced with budget cuts, hundreds of teachers received pink slips in April and May, while very few administrators or executives have been laid off, especially Epps's hand-picked assistants.