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Newark Deputy Mayor Stefan Pryor Chosen To Take Over Connecticut Schools

HARTFORD, CT (AP / WCBS 880) - A co-founder of an acclaimed New Haven charter school and deputy mayor of New Jersey's largest city has been introduced as Connecticut's new education commissioner.

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau On The Story

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The state Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend 39-year-old Stefan Pryor to Gov. Dan Malloy for the job. Pryor was also Malloy's top choice. He'll serve on an interim basis until the General Assembly confirms the nomination.

Pryor is deputy mayor of Newark, N.J., and former president of New York City's Lower Manhattan Development Corp. He is a Yale graduate and co-founder of the Amistad Academy.

He starts the $185,000-a-year job in October.

Pryor said Wednesday he will move with "real and sustained urgency'' to address Connecticut's achievement gap, and that reaching results under difficult circumstances is among his strengths.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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