News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch made a surprise $5.5 million donation earlier this month to a Harlem charter school during a benefit concert at the neighborhood’s legendary Apollo Theater.
Murdoch was introduced by former New York Giant running back Tiki Barber before appearing onstage and presenting the Harlem Village Academy, a well−performing school for 5th−graders through 10th−graders, with the donation. The money will go toward constructing a high school building for the academy.
“They’re setting higher standards for schools in the whole community,” Murdoch said of the school.
The benefit concert was hosted by Academy Awards emcee Hugh Jackman and featured performances by singers Patti LaBelle and John Legend.
The city’s charter schools receive no funding for construction, which has forced many of them to use operational funds to build.
