State May Fund School Broadband Four More Months

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho budget writers have approved a nearly $3.6 million stopgap measure to maintain broadband access in public high schools for at least another four months, acknowledging that questions are still swirling around the troubled program's long-term fate.

The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to provide funding to the Superintendent of Public Instruction's office to reimburse schools for procuring their own broadband service throughout fiscal year 2015. Earlier this month, a district judge voided Idaho's $60 million broadband contract. The ruling left officials scrambling to find a way to maintain broadband access in Idaho schools.

All attempts to salvage a statewide program have been blocked. The money approved Monday will not be used to pay Idaho's broadband vendors, who have not been paid since the judge deemed the contract illegal.