Houston schools hope to settle federal probe of technology spending

FromThe Houston Chronicle: Schools in the Houston Independent School Districthave gone without at least $82 million for technology upgrades while the system is under federal investigation for questionable deals with computer equipment vendors. Superintendent Terry Grier says the district is nearing a legal settlement so that schools can get the funds for much-needed wiring, better Internet access, new servers and more. The Houston district would have to pay the federal government about $850,000 to make up for the alleged wrongdoing, which involved former employees accepting gifts from vendors. In exchange, the district no longer would be frozen out of federal e-rate technology subsidies.