Five new Newark schools to get nearly $1M from Facebook CEO donation

Six months after announcing a headline-grabbing $100 million donation to Newark’s schools, the first installment of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s grant will finally reach city classrooms.

The nearly $1 million award, granted to five new public alternative high schools, was announced Tuesday following a week of open hostility after the city’s school advisory board opposed the schools set to receive grants. In an uncommon rebuke to the board, state officials, who have controlled the district since 1995, reversed the board’s decision.