$9.5 million from E-rate Year 1 Remains Unspent by PA Applicants
Message Posted November 18, 1999
~ Deadline is Dec. 15, 1999 to Request Reimbursement ~
The Schools and Libraries Division has just informed us that there is a
large sum of money that was committed to E-rate applicants in Year 1 that
remains unspent or unclaimed. Of the total $150 million, $9.5 million is
listed under the names of Pennsylvania applicants. The names of these PA
applicants, along with the pertinent Funding Request Number and funds
remaining, is posted on the PA E-rate web site at:
http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/pde/usf/index.html under "View Which PA
Applicants Haven't Spent Year 1 Funds."
There could be several reasons for an applicant to have funds remaining from
Year 1.
a. The project may have come in under budget and therefore the applicant
didn't need all of the committed funds.
b. The project may not have been able to be completed by Sept. 30, 1999 and
therefore the applicant could not use the committed funds.
c. The service provide placed discounts on applicants' bills and has not
invoiced the SLD for the amount of the discounted services.
d. The applicant obtained services, but has not submitted a BEAR
Reimbursement Form to recapture their funds. (Most likely due to a large
turnover in personnel over the summer months and different people taking
charge of E-rate filings.)
If your entity is on this list, you only have 3 weeks to submit the proper
paperwork to the SLD to get reimbursed.
1) If you haven't done so already, be sure to submit the Form 486. This
can be submitted with the BEAR form, but it just can't be submitted AFTER
the BEAR Form is submitted.
2) Submit the BEAR Reimbursement Form to the SLD so it is received at the
SLD by Dec. 15, 1999. Be sure that it has been signed by your service
provider and that it's only asking for reimbursement for funds that were
actually spent and were committed to you in Year 1.
3) If you service provider discounted your Year 1 bills, be sure that they
know to invoice the SLD using their invoice form by Dec. 15, 1999.
And before you ask, no, an entity's unspent Year 1 funds cannot be carried
over to year 2.
If you have any questions, please contact the SLD at 888-203-8100.
-- Julie
Julie L. Tritt
Executive Policy Specialist
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street, 10th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
(717) 705-4486
(717) 787-7222 - fax
jtritt@state.pa.us
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