Facebook CEO to give Newark’s schools $100m

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg will donate $100 million to assist schools in Newark, New Jersey’s largest city, an education advocate said.Derrell Bradford, executive director of Excellent Education for Everyone, said the money will help improve schools in Newark by giving teachers merit pay and expanding charter schools. He said he learned about the gift from the office of Governor Chris Christie. A person within Christie’s administration confirmed the gift. The person declined to be identified before a planned announcement tomorrow on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Zuckerberg, 26, chose Newark because of the persuasive powers of Mayor Cory Booker, Bradford said. Booker, a 41-year- old Democrat, is a co-founder of Excellent Education for Everyone.“The mayor is a magician,” Bradford said. “This experiment is as high a stakes experiment in school reform as you can do. If they’re not successful, it might never happen again.”Christie will give Booker a larger role in running the city schools, and the mayor will also get a “major” say in picking a new superintendent, the New York Times reported. The district, with about 39,000 students, has been under state control since 1995.