$25M comes from a New York investor, while a venture capitalist gave $10M
In this photo provided by NBC NewsWire, Mayor Cory Booker appears on "Meet the Press" on Dec. 19, 2010 in Washington, D.C. NEWARK — Newark Mayor Cory Booker Thursday provided his most detailed accounting yet of private donations made to bolster reform efforts in the state’s largest school district.
There is $25 million from a New York investor, $10 million from a venture capitalist, $5 million from a team of husband-and-wife bankers and $3 million from one of the world’s most prominent philanthropists.
The disclosure comes amid a week of questions about just how much Booker has raised to match Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to the city schools, what the money is being used for and in what amounts.
It also comes days after revelations of acting state Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf’s relationship with a consulting firm hired by Booker to audit Newark schools. The firm, Global Education Advisors, produced a controversial plan to close or consolidate low-performing, under-enrolled schools and provide space for charter and new high schools.
"There is no hiding going on here with the Zuckerberg grant/Match," Booker wrote in an e-mail.
"I am still working to get donors on board and we hope to have a full announcement in the future."
While Booker has previously given estimates about money raised, he has never disclosed the total sum or specific amounts from each donor.
But the potential influx of hundreds of millions of dollars into Newark’s public schools has political and education leaders calling for greater oversight of the donations and how they are spent.
"I know the mayor’s heart is in the right place, but the need for greater transparency should be obvious" Assembly Education Committee Chairman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) said.
State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), who sits on the committee that will rule on Cerf’s nomination, said the growing trend of private dollars being spent on public schools will likely require new legislation to govern its use.
"We’re seeing a whole new cottage industry growing in the operation of quasi-public schools," Weinberg said.
"If you want to deal in the public arena, then I’m not sure you can expect anonymity."
Weinberg said she has been dealing with similar issues in gaining disclosure from private for-profit hospitals and parallels with education donations, specifically for charter schools.
"We have to find out who’s spending the money and are they getting any return on their investment other than better students," Weinberg said.
Of the $43 million raised so far, the donations came from:
• $25 million from New York investor William Ackman, head of the Pershing Square Foundation.
• $10 million from venture capitalist John Doerr, a founder of the NewSchools Venture Fund.
• $5 million from Elizabeth and Ravenel Curry, founders of the New York investment firm Eagle Capital Management.
• $3 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIVIDE
Rutgers School of Law-Newark professor Paul Tractenberg said he’s not aware of any state laws that require public officials like Booker to be more forthcoming about donations made to the cities they represent and said the average citizen is not aware of how many private dollars are at work in the public sector. But the lack of a statute is not an excuse for Booker to operate a "shadow government," he said.
"We have a bunch of private people having tremendous influence over education policy, and exercising that influence through public officials, in this case Booker," Tractenberg said. "It’s this notion of ‘I don’t have to act like an elected official, I can act like a private power broker’ and there’s something that really smells about that."
Booker said sending private money to public schools is nothing new, citing districts in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
"There have been millions and millions of private dollars flowing into our public school system over the last decade and years before," Booker said, noting "tremendous investments by private individuals as well as corporate foundations who have been seeking to help our children and NPS leadership in their efforts."
Former Newark Superintendent Marion Bolden said Booker’s use of foundation money to shape education policy is unlawful because he has no authority over the district. Newark has been under state control for the past 15 years and only a citywide vote could return decision-making power to the mayor or the board of education.
"The mayor has no legal role in running the schools, and yet he is acting as if has direct control of the schools," said Bolden, whose contract with the state ended in 2008.
"He would need a referendum in order to take control of the schools but he is bypassing that, pretending he doesn’t need one."
Bolden, who has criticized Booker in the past, said the lack of transparency surrounding Booker’s use of donations like those from the Gates and other foundations disenfranchises Newark residents.
She also predicted that community groups would seek a court order to prevent Booker from meddling in the schools.
Robert Curvin, a prominent education and civil rights leader, said this influx of money represents a growing national trend, but the sheer magnitude of donations in Newark is causing alarm.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf are shown here in this January file photo."You generally have not had private money take over an entire public sector and that is what is very different here," Curvin said.
As the economy becomes more global, American students are struggling to keep up, Curvin said, which is driving private investment in schools. "Given the nature of globalization there’s thoroughly a sense of nervousness about America’s place in the global marketplace and education is the place where that nervousness is most manifested."
But according to Curvin and others, Booker’s recent handling of events, including a the secret plan to phase out numerous schools, is harming reform efforts in Newark.
"I think it’s a manifestation of a total lack of understanding of urban life," Curvin said.
"If this is the man who says he’s going to set a new standard for urban transformation he has, in my view, shown a lack of understanding of what urban transformation is."
By David Giambusso and Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger
Star-Ledger columnist Bob Braun contributed to this report.