$80M in Tech Funding to Florida's Poorest Districts

The latest in a series of lawsuit settlements has impoverished school districts in Florida slated to receive $80M from Micro$oft. Following on the heels of a similar payout in California (to the tune of about $500M), the Florida deal sends much-needed tech funding to districts with 50% or more of their enrolled students receiving reduced-cost or no-cost lunch. This according to an article from the wire services and eSchool News (here).

The Florida payout actually saves Micro$oft tens of millions of dollars. The original antitrust lawsuit was brought against the company by the Attorneys General of several states (including Minnesota, Montana, Vermont, California, and Florida). As part of the terms of the settlement, consumers who were unfairly "forced" into using MicroSoft products were able to receive vouchers for between $5 and $12 for computer software or hardware from any company. The money going to the schools in Florida represents 50% of the funds unclaimed by consumers. MicroSoft is able to recoup some of the unclaimed funds as well. Florida's total payout was not to exceed $202,000,000.