Whistleblowers told the agencies that contractors working with HP and other companies "lavished" gifts on employees at the Dallas Independent School District and the Houston Independent School District in Texas in an effort to secure E-Rate contracts that included $17 million in HP equipment, the agencies said.

The contractors gave school employees meals and entertainment, including trips on a yacht and tickets to the 2004 Super Bowl, in an effort to get inside information and win contracts that were supposed to be awarded in a competitive bidding process, the agencies said.

An HP spokeswoman wasn't immediately available for comment.

Most of the $16.3 million will be returned to the E-Rate program, the FCC said. The FCC will also oversee a compliance agreement agreed to by HP, the agency said.

"Broadband is key to our children's 21st century education," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "That's why one of the FCC's top