by , 8:35 AM EDT, July 27th, 2005

Apple Computer announced Wednesday it has won a contract with Broward County, Fla. Public Schools to supply it with 30,000 iBook laptops to be used by its students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

The Broward County school system is the sixth largest school district in the U.S. with a total of 272,691 students. The district has 251 schools serving students that speak 56 languages.

The school district reported a 2004/2005 budget of US$4.14 billion. Specifics of the contract and its bid were not immediately available from representatives of the school district.

"As one of the nation's leading school districts, Broward County Public Schools has long used technology to enhance teaching and learning," said Dr. Frank Till, superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, in a prepared statement distributed by Apple's public relations department. "The new iBooks are ideally suited to meet the needs of our students, and demonstrate Apple's commitment to education."