Newark Weighs Options To Cut Teacher Ranks

Newark Mayor Cory Booker says the city has to reduce its number of teachers as student enrollment declines.

School officials say if they can reach a breakthrough contract with the city's teacher's union, they would consider using some of the $100 million donation from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for
teacher buyouts.

Superintendent Cami Anderson says it's among several options being weighed as Newark looks to deal with an oversupply of teachers.

Newark estimates it has about 300 more teachers than it needs due to shrinking enrollment -- down over 3,000 in five years.

Teachers union treasurer Joseph Amabile says specifics of a work force reduction haven't been addressed but negotiations are progressing.

Booker told a conference Friday that removing the lowest-performing 300 to 400 teachers would greatly benefit the district.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)