JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND – In a controversial statement that’s sure to be discussed ahead of the upcoming April 27 Board of Education election, NJ.com is reporting today that Jersey City Schools Superintendent Charles Epps told a group of pastors that female students were the reason the school system spends $1 million on police and security personnel.
The web site quotes Epps as saying that “Our worst enemy is the young ladies. The young girls are bad. I don’t know what they’re drinking today, but they’re bad.”
When asked to clarify the comment, Epps backtracked, telling a reporter that he had been speaking “metaphorically,” and that school violence is committed by both male and female students. But local community groups and parents are likely to have a reaction.
He was speaking before a group of pastors in Jersey City this week.
Epps, a former assemblyman, was appointed by the state more than 10 years ago to run the district, but has stirred some controversy from those in the district who opposed the terms of his recent contract renewal. – E. Assata Wright
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