The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Marcus: Quest to fix failing N.J. schools proves costly, ineffective
By Ruth Marcus
Published: October 23, 2015, 6:00am
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When Dale Russakoff began writing about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to help fix the failing schools in Newark, N.J., she assumed she would end up telling an uplifting story of transformational change.
“It sounded to me at the time like, well, that’s enough money to do anything,” Russakoff recalled of watching Zuckerberg announce the gift before a whooping “Oprah” audience in 2010, joined by a political odd couple in the form of Newark’s charismatic, reform-minded Democratic mayor, Cory Booker, and New Jersey’s Republican governor,...
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