NEW YORK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of New York, and Joel I. Klein, chancellor of the public-school system, have raised $311-million this year from some of the city’s major philanthropists, reports The New York Times. The school system will use $117-million to start new small schools, $70-million to open an academy to train principals, and $41-million to support a nonprofit group that is encouraging the development of charter schools. The rest will be used to refurbish libraries and playgrounds, and improve schools that are doing a poor job teaching students.