E-rate Update: Funding Commitments Delayed Until Mid-November
Message Posted October 28, 1998
SLC ANNOUNCES DELAYED RELEASE OF FUNDING COMMITMENT LETTERS
Most of you are by now wondering where are your funding commitment ("show me the money") letters, as the SLC originally said that they would be
released in early Fall. Well, they have now just released the following refined timeline for mailing of the letters. In short, it looks like they
won't be mailed until after Nov. 11. In addition, the SLC is still planning to mail them in waves over the next two months. This, of course,
means that they will be looking to push back the start of the next application window which is slated to be Dec. 1, 1998.
Also, we at the Department of Education realize that the delay in receiving your funding commitment letters may pose difficulties on institutions that
were planning to leverage their Link-to-Learn grants with E-rate discounts. Soon we will be releasing some suggestions and guidelines on how to deal
with this situation.
-- Julie
E-RATE NEWSFLASH
SCHOOLS & LIBRARIES CORP.
October 27, 1998
TIMEFRAME REFINED FOR RELEASE OF FUNDING COMMITMENTS
The SLC is moving to complete several last required steps before issuing funding commitments. Recognizing the intense interest in the commitment
schedule, the Schools and Libraries Corporation now estimates that it will begin issuing funding commitment decisions letters in mid-November.
The SLC is in the final stages of implementing additional program safeguards as required by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) based on recommendations received in July from the General Accounting Office (GAO).
When the FCC and GAO are satisfied that all requirements are met, and as soon as the SLC gets a green light to begin issuing Funding
Commitment Decision Letters, the letters will go out in several waves. All such letters will be in response to applications received during the
75-day window. The timing of SLC's response to an application will be a function of:
- FCC funding priorities;
- the date when the application was successfully entered into our database; and
- completion of all SLC decisions for a given application, so that a complete response is provided in a single letter.
The SLC plans to provide additional details about the process for funding commitment notification before beginning to send letters. In addition, the
SLC staff and board are currently evaluating the timeframe of the application window for the next funding year. The window is scheduled
to open on December 1, 1998, and to remain open for 80 days. SLC's goal is to provide applicants time to integrate 1998 funding commitment
decisions into their planning for 1999-2000.
As the SLC moves toward issuance of the funding commitment letters, its outreach to applicants and vendors about key post-commitment steps
continues apace. Please see the SLC Web Site, www.slcfund.org, for the latest schedules of upcoming outreach events.
Julie L. Tritt
Executive Policy Specialist
Office of Educational Technology
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 10th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
Tel: (717) 705-4486
Fax: (717) 787-7222
00jtritt@psupen.psu.edu
www.L2L.org
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