Mark Zuckerberg, a newly-minted member of the Forbes Rich List, is using some of his wealth to revive Newark's long-struggling public schools, thanks to overtures from Newark's charismatic Democratic mayor Corey Booker.
On Friday, Booker and Zuckerberg will appear alongside New Jersey's Republican governor Chris Christie on Oprah Winfrey's talkshow to formally announce the donation and the package of reforms accompanying it. Booker is expected to find matching donations for a total of $200m.
According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Christie and Booker will say that the Newark school system, under state control for the last 15 years, will be placed under Booker's authority. Booker, with the governor's support, plans an ambitious series of changes opposed by local teaching unions, including an expansion of charter schools and new standards and teacher appraisal.
The city of Newark, the largest in New Jersey, has an unenviable record of corruption, crime, poverty and unemployment that puts it among the worst-off metropolitan areas in the the US.
But in recent years, especially since the election of Booker in 2006, the city has seen a modest revival – and earlier this year celebrated its first murder-free month for 44 years.
Newark's schools have been no exception to the city's record of woe, and in 1995 the state of New Jersey took over direct control of the school system. In spite of the change of management, 46% of the district's 40,000 students fail to finish high school and only about 40% have basic reading and writing skills by the third grade (aged 8).
According to the New York Times, Zuckerberg has no previous connection with the city until he met Booker at a conference in July this year and became interested in the mayor's plans.
Cynics say that the timing of the appearance on Oprah is no coincidence, since The Social Network, the movie depicting the early years of Facebook, goes on general release tomorrow, and is said to portray Zuckerberg in an unflattering light.
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