(Host) One hundred and thirty-five schools in Vermont will share $4.7 million for computer equipment and software programs under a settlement announced today between the state and Microsoft.
The original lawsuit was brought by a group of private attorneys who successfully argued that Microsoft had used its domination in the software industry to discourage competition.
After consumer claims had been paid out over the course of the last year, roughly 9 million dollars remained in the Vermont settlement fund.
Assistant Attorney General David Borsykowski says the original agreement called for half of the money, or $4.7 million, be given to Vermont schools in the form of vouchers for computer hardware and software.
The money will be sent to schools that have a high percentage of students who qualify for the federal school lunch program:
(Borsykowski) “In this case the parties and that is Microsoft and the private attorneys representing the class, asked that the court determine that the next best thing was to distribute it in this way in particular to schools that have higher levels of students facing poverty that perhaps other schools.”
(Host) While some of the smaller schools that qualify are expected to receive between $5,000 and $10,000 dollars in vouchers. Some of the state’s larger schools will get between $60,000 and $100,000 dollars.
The schools will have 3 years to use their
vouchers.