What E-rate Can Do for You

Janice Meyers Educational Consulting, LLC

Introductions E-Rate Basics Impact of E-rate on OR Case Studies Connect Ed E-rate 2.0 Already Applying? Tips to Maximize your Funding

Why Hire a Consultant Q&A

Agenda

Since 2001, Janice Meyers has helped over 95 schools realize their technology goals with the help of E-rate funding. As an education and technology expert she is uniquely qualified to help your school maximize funding and integrate eligible services into your technology plan.

Janice received a master’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College and worked as a classroom teacher. She became fascinated by educational technology and earned an M.S. Ed in Instructional Psychology. After working in the technology field, Janice returned to school for a certificate in administration and supervision. She worked as a technology director, supervising systems and educational technology integration. Prior to Janice’s entry into the educational world she was a account representative, making her an excellent negotiator.

This experienced teacher and administrator is available to help you navigate E-Rate from start to finish!

About Janice Meyers Educational Consulting, LLC

Charter schools have the freedom to use the newest technologies to make learning come alive.

But…

Life of a charter school leader

The costs associated with implementing the latest technologies can be overwhelming.

This presentation will provide you with the information you need to use E-rate to make your technology dreams come true.

Connected Classrooms do not Come Free!

E-rate is a federal program that was established by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to make telephone and internet service more affordable for schools and libraries throughout the country, particularly in rural and urban areas.  In 2013 the program has more than $2.3 billion in funds to distribute.

E-Rate provides federal subsidies of between 20% - 90% on:

-Telephone Lines/Mobile Phone Service-Local and Long Distance Charges-Data Lines (T1, DS3, WAN Service)-Internet Access and Hosting Services-Internal Connections (Wiring, Switches, Routers, Servers) (priority 2 typically for schools with higher poverty rate)-Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections (priority 2)

So What exactly is e-rate?

There are two categories of Eligible services

Priority One- P1

Telecommunications Services- local/ LD , cells, VoIP, centrex, ect.

Telecommunications- covers lit or dark fiber, maintenance and installation costs that are not provided by a telecommunications carrier. Dark fiber is eligible if the applicant lights the dark fiber immediately; however, the costs for purchasing modulating electronics necessary to light the dark fiber are not eligible.

Internet Access-cable, Fibers, T-1 lines

Priority 2- P2

Internal Connections-eligible products, such as routers, wireless, switches, hubs, and wiring. Eligible products are located at the applicant site and must be considered a necessity to transport information to classrooms or publicly accessible areas of a library.

Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections- upkeep and maintenance of all eligible equipment

How are discounts determined?

Discounts Discounts range from 20% to 90%

of the cost of eligible services. The amount of the discount is based on the school’s location and level of poverty (using National School Lunch Guidelines).

If your organization has multiple schools the discounts for individual schools can be combined or schools can apply individually.

• All schools can receive discounts on telephone service and internet access. Schools with a high percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch can receive subsidies to pay for internal connections/basic maintenance.

Alternative Discount Mechanisms

Other measures of poverty can be used

Survey method The survey must be sent to all

families whose children attend the school

The survey must, at a minimum, contain the following information: Name of family and students Size of the family Income level of the family

Participation is one of these programs qualifies

Medicaid Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program (SNAP) - formerly Food stamps

Supplementary Security Income (SSI)

Federal public housing assistance or Section 8

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

What’s my discount rate?

INCOME If the % of students in your school that qualifies for the National School Lunch Program is...

URBAN LOCATION ...and you are in an URBAN area, your discount will be...

RURAL LOCATION ...and you are in a RURAL area, your discount will be...

Less than 1% 20% 25%

1% to 19% 40% 50%

20% to 34% 50% 60%

35% to 49% 60% 70%

50% to 74% 80% 80%

75% to 100% 90% 90%

Am I Urban or Rural?

The following Oregon counties are considered rural (all others are considered urban):

Baker Clackamas (only some areas)Clatsop Coos Crook Curry Deschutes DouglasGilliam GrantHarney Hood River Jackson (only some areas)

Jefferson JosephineKlamathLakeLincoln LinnMalheurMorrow Sherman TillamookUmatillaLane (only some areas)UnionWallowa Wasco Wheeler

My school is too small to benefit from E-rate FALSE: Any school can benefit from E-rate. If you pay $900 a month for

a T-1 line and you qualify for a 40% discount, you could save $4,320 a year.

Only low-income schools receive funding. FALSE: All schools qualify for telecommunications and internet access

funding. Currently schools in which more than 75% of students qualify for reduced lunch prices can receive funding for internal connections and maintenance. (More schools may be eligible in the near future).

There is a limit to how much my school can receive. FALSE: As long as you have a plan to utilize the funding and file forms

properly, there is no set limit. Some of our schools receive up to $ 350,000

The paperwork is overwhelming. TRUE: But… If the burden of learning the rules and filling out all the

forms is too much, consider hiring an E-Rate consultant to handle your application.

Let’s play a gametrue or false?

Impact in Oregon

Oregon schools have already been awarded more than $16 million in E-rate funding for the year 2012. Funding decisions for 2013 are still being made, but over $3 million has already been awarded. The window for 2014 applications has just opened. Are you ready?

Real life examples:How two clients used e-rate

School A is a charter that opened in 2012, serving 120 students in grades K-1. They are planning to expand to serve grades K-5 and will outgrow their current facility.-The school has a 76% NSLP rate and qualifies for priority 2 funding-In 2013 the school will receive $200,000 of funding for network, cabling, wireless, phone system, servers, etc. They will also get $50,000 for Internet, phone lines, and cell service. -

School B is an urban charter high school with 400 students. Their students do not want to be labeled/socially stigmatized and so they do not return the school lunch form. The school then doesn’t qualify for priority 2 (internal connections). After employing the survey method, they qualify for a new network.

The window for filing E-rate applications for the 2014 funding year has just opened. To get more information check out the website of the Universal Service Administrative Company (the entity that administers the program).Or the SLD website athttp://www.usac.org/sl

I am interested in learning more. Where should I begin?

"In a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, why shouldn't we have it in our schools?" President Obama

What does Connect Ed want to accomplish? At least 100 meg of Internet access to each school, a gigabyte to the desktopHow will E-rate 2.0 use the fund?Increase and streamline the fund to get the job done in 5 years

Connect Ed and ERATE 2.0

Examine your discount rate. Have you gotten every student to turn in their NSPL forms, if not why?

Some families are reluctant to turn in forms due to immigration issues

Consider using alternative measures of poverty

Revise your technology plan- what does the network need to maximize the use of technology in the classroom

Re examine all telecommunications costs- do you have POTS lines not being used- can you find a better technology at a lower cost to achieve the same or better results

I already apply for e-rateHow can I maximize my benefits?

What is an E-rate Consultant? Should I consider hiring one?

Complying with the multitude of federal mandates surrounding E-Rate can be an arduous task. Application requirements often change swiftly mid-year. Schools lose enormous sums of money because they do not have the expertise to navigate the labyrinth of required forms, competitive bidding procedures and audits.

Applying for E-rate requires significant knowledge, time and energy. It is often cost-effective to hire a consultant to manage your application.

A few examples of Oregon schools denied funding because of filing errors that could have been easily avoided :

A FCC Form 470 was not posted for requested tariff or month-to-month services for Funding Year 2012. FCC Rules require that requested tariff or month-to-month services be posted on a FCC Form 470 each Funding Year.

$34,295Denied

Applicant has not provided sufficient documentation for the following items: a signed and dated copy of the contract for the requested products/services, an explanation of how the multiple non-instructional facilities are essential to transport data and information to an instructional building, and failure to provide a configuration/network diagram.

$72,682 Denied

This FRN is denied because the Item 21 Attachment was not received on or before the filing deadline. The Item 21 Attachment is an FCC Form 471 Window filing requirement. You failed to provide sufficient documentation demonstrating the Item 21 Attachment was submitted timely. FCC Forms 471 with Item 21 Attachments that met the FCC Form 471.

$22,176 Denied

Janice will: Develop a

comprehensive 3 year technology plan

Obtain the highest discount rate possible

File all forms correctly and in a timely manner

Integrate eligible services

Set up an audit proof record retention system

Services Include: Working with the school to determine the eligibility rate

(reimbursement rate) Preparing and analyzing the survey method if deemed

necessary Conducting a needs analysis of technology needs Reviewing the schools Technology Plan to insure E-rate

compliance Preparing Requests for Proposal Posting RFP on JHMEDU.com Sending RFP’s to prospective bidders Receiving completed bids and analyzing the bids Collect all information required for submission of

funding (year 2010-2011) 470 forms Complete and submit funding (year 2010-2011) 470

forms Collect information required to submit funding (year

2010-2011) 471 forms Complete and submit funding (year 2010-2011) 471

forms Answering all PIA (Program Integrity Assurance)

questions Answering all Special Compliance Review questions Filing SPIN (Service Provider Invoice Number ) changes Filing Invoice Extension requests Provide direction and information in the process and

submission of form 486 Filing of the BEAR(Billed Entity Applicant

Reimbursement Form) Filing the SPI (Service Provider Invoice Form) Filing of Form 500 if needed Maintaining the Quarterly Disbursement Reports Help the school set up an E-rate record retention

system to prepare for FCC audits Be available to answer general and specific E-Rate/SLD

questions

Q&A

Contact Janice Meyers Educational Consulting, LLC

janice@jhmedu.com

1121 Park West Blvd. SuiteB#204Mount Pleasant, SC 29466914-715-2466

www.jhmedu.com janice@jhmedu.com

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