Christie and Booker To Visit Oprah, Pick Up $100M From Facebook’s Zuckerman

By Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker will make an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday to announce the restructuring of the Newark School System and the gift of $100 million from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerman, according to a report in the Star Ledger.

Under the restructuring, Newark’s schools will be under the authority of Mayor Booker who will be named a “special assistant to the governor.” The schools have been under state control for 15 years with the governor as the official overseer.

Booker will implement reforms to include expanded charter school, new achievement standards and methods of judging which schools and teachers are effective. New Jersey’s teachers unions have long opposed these types of reforms.