Big news late last week with the unveiling of a $25 million fund to boost public charter schools in Newark, N.J. As many readers of this blog are well aware, Newark's public schools are among the highest-spending of any schools in the galaxy, yet they have been absolutely decimated over the years by corruption, incompetence, and indiffernce about the needs of school kids in New Jersey's largest city.
The teaming up of local foundations and heavy-hitters like Gates, Robertson, Walton and Fisher suggests this could be an impressive last-stab at actually saving public education in Newark by providing more high-quality public school options for parents and educators.
Kudos to Gov. John Corzine and Mayor Cory Booker – both good Dems – for their involvement with this one. Disclosure: Mayor Booker is on the DFER advisory board.
Also over the weekend, the NY Times looked at the larger issue of philanthropy in Newark. The story mentions the work of Bill Ackman and Boykin Curry. More disclosure: Curry is a founding board member of DFER, and Ackman is on the DFER advisory board.