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TagsBY BOB HOLT
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Newark Mayor Cory Booker will make a surprise appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show Friday along with N.J. Governor Chris Christie to announce an unprecedented restructuring of Newark's school system and the gift of $100 million from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Christie and Booker will proclaim that the long-troubled Newark schools, which have been under state control for 15 years, are going to be placed under Booker's authority. Together, Booker and the school system will begin a massive program of educational change long opposed by teachers unions.
It will include an expansion of charter schools, new achievement standards and methods for judging which schools and teachers are effective, sources said.
According to NJ.com, two officials with direct knowledge of the plan released the information, and it was confirmed by a third person with knowledge of Booker and Christie's arrangements.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Newark currently spends about $22,000 a year on each of its 40,000 pupils, but only about half of its students graduate. Only one-fifth of those who do go on to four-year colleges. More than 85 percent of the Newark students at community colleges need remedial help in math and English.
RELATED:
Mark Zuckerberg plans to give $100M to Newark schools
Zuckerberg, 26, who co-founded Facebook, is making the challenge grant of $100 million as an invitation for others to become donors — with a goal of raising another $100 million, bringing the total gift to $200 million. The grant from Zuckerberg alone amounts to more than 10 percent of the district's annual budget.
NorthJersey.com reports the school plan calls for Christie to use his authority as the official overseer of the Newark district and name Booker a "special assistant to the governor" for education in Newark.
The announcement is scheduled to air live Friday in Chicago at 10 a.m. EDT and then rebroadcast at 4 p.m. on ABC Channel 7 in North Jersey and Channel 6 in southern New Jersey.
After all, it is people like Oprah that have supported politicians that gave the teachers union their power.
It is generous of Mr. Zuckerberg to give Newark 100 million dollars, I guess it is a good thing that the school system is so bad or they would not have received free money. Apparently school systems that do well aren't entitled benefactors. So now fundering can go from 22,000 per pupil to almost 25K per pupil. As though that is going to help.
If they want to fix the system - Axe the teachers union.