Rep. critical of Newark school reform spending

(AP) -- A legislator is criticizing how officials are spending money in New Jersey's largest city in the wake of a $100 million gift from the founder of Facebook.

One of the first acts in the reform process has people knocking on 91,000 doors to ask Newark residents for suggestions on how to improve the schools. The chairman of the state Assembly's education committee tells the Star-Ledger of Newark the results will be predictable and the cost is high.

The Partnership for Education in Newark was set up to match Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million gift. It estimates the outreach effort and advertising and public relation costs will total $1 million.

Defenders say the outreach will help form a clear strategy for spending the rest of the money.

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