JFAC OKs waste of $8M more

In a surprise end-of-session move, legislative budget-writers Tuesday earmarked $8 million that could settle some claims in the Idaho Education Network contract fiasco. The money could go to Education Networks of America and CenturyLink, the two lead vendors on the mothballed high school broadband system. Both vendors could sue the state over unpaid project bills. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee put $8 million into the state’s Legislative Legal Defense Fund — allowing legislative leaders to continue to pursue a settlement with vendors. Settlement talks have been in the works since fall — and after JFAC approved the $8 million transfer, House Speaker Scott Bedke was guarded in his remarks about the process. “(We’re) close-ish,” Bedke told Idaho Education News Tuesday morning/ Kevin Richert , Idaho Education Network. More here.