Year 4: Wave 6 E-rate Funding Commitments Mailed
Message Posted September 28, 2001
* CIPA/486 Deadline is Oct. 28 if you have received your commitment letter *
Congratulations to the following 11 Pennsylvania schools and libraries that
will be receiving Year 4, Wave 6 E-rate Funding Commitment Letters, totaling
$3,011,429.70.
This is the final wave until the very end of October because the SLD wants to make sure that applicants have their FCDL's in plenty of time to file their 486 before Oct. 28 (the mandatory CIPA deadline for Year 4, for FCDL's received before that date).
A summary of each commitment is listed below, and detailed
information will be posted to the SLD web site on Monday. The actual
letters are being mailed tomorrow and should be arriving early next week.
If you find that your funding commitment letter does not arrive in a timely
manner, you should contact the SLD ASAP to have a new one issued, as the Oct. 28 CIPA deadline will still apply to you, even if you receive a duplicate copy. The original date on your letter is the one that will be used to determine CIPA compliance.
If you were not listed in the first waves, do not panic. The order in which you are funded has no meaning. To assist you in
understanding the funding waves, there is a Q & A posted at the end of this
message.
* The next step is to file a Form 486 which tells the SLD that service has
begun and that they are authorized to pay invoices (either BEAR or SPIFs).
IMPORTANT: Because of the new CIPA requirements, there is a newly revised
486 Form that MUST be used -- and it MUST be filed by October 28 (if you have already received your FCDL).
The 486 is now available on the SLD
website at: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/form/ or by calling the SLD
at 888-203-8100. It's almost identical to the previous version, but
includes the CIPA certifications.
* If you disagree with a funding commitment decision, an appeal letter MUST
be received at the SLD within 30 days of the date that is on the decision
letter (NOT the letter's postmark date). There are no exceptions to this
rule.
E-rate Year 4, Wave 6
Allentown SD $206,671.92
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh $788,546.73
Center Area SD $18,936.06
Diocese of Greensburg Schools $21,241.35
Immaculate Conception School $2,052.00
Milford E. Barnes Jr. School $23,589.72
Philadelphia SD $1,887,000.00
Sewickley Academy $7,594.32
Souderton Area SD $49,680.00
St. Stephen School $4,341.60
The Young Scholars Charter School $1,776.00
Sum for Wave 6 $3,011,429.70
Sum for Waves 1-6 $38,507,138.96
1. How will I be notified of my E-rate Funding Commitment?
The SLD will be sending out Funding Commitment Decision Letters to
inform applicants of their E-rate discounts. These letters will be mailed
in waves, rather than waiting for all applications to be fully processed
before issuing any letters. Only those applicants who submitted complete
requests within the "application window" will be receiving Funding
Commitment Decision letters.
2. When will the first wave of letters be sent and how frequently
will the waves of letters be sent?
Every other week a wave of letters will be issues to applicants.
The first wave will be released on July 23, 2001 with the second wave being
mailed on August 3. There will be at least eight waves, and perhaps more.
As each wave is sent, the SLD will announce its size and post state-by-state
information on their Web Site.
3. How will I know which wave my letter is in?
There is no definitive way to know in advance which wave a
particular Funding Commitment Decision Letter might be in. The SLD will
post information about each wave on our public Web Site the first business
day after it has been mailed. To obtain a general sense of the timing of
your funding commitment, please see questions 7-9.
4. Will I receive only one Funding Commitment Decision Letter?
No, not necessarily. The SLD will issue Funding Commitment Decision
Letters according to the FCC's rules of priority (See questions 5 -6 for
details) when answers are known about any of the requests made in your
application(s). If you submitted multiple applications for services, you
will receive more than one Funding Commitment Decision Letter. If you
submitted only one application for discounts on all three types of service
-- telecommunications service, internet access, and internal connections --
you may receive more than one Funding Commitment Decision Letter.
5. How is each wave formed?
There are three factors determining how each wave is formed:
* The FCC Rules of Priority: There are two rules of priority.
"Priority One" approved requests are for discounts on telecommunications
services and Internet access and "Priority Two" approved requests are for
discounts on internal connections. If "Priority One" services can be fully
funded, discount requests for internal connection, or "Priority Two"
services, are funded beginning with the highest need at the 90% discount
level.
* Successful Data Entry: The date when the application was
successfully entered into the SLD database will also determine when a
Funding Commitment Decision Letter may be sent.
* Complete Processing: Before a funding commitment can be made, the
SLD must complete processing of your application, including the Program
Integrity Assurance (PIA) review process.
The SLD has set aside funds to cover all telecommunications and
Internet access requests received inside the filing window. They will
consider "priority two" requests - Internal connections requests - with the
90% applicants first and will work down the discount matrix.
6. If funds area available for internal connections requests below
the 90% discount level, how will SLD make these funding decisions?
Consistent with FCC rules, the SLD will consider Internal
Connections requests below the 90% discount level, by discount level - 89%,
88%, 87%, etc.
7. I sent my Form 471 in to the SLD electronically -- very early in
the process last November. How will that affect the timing of my letter?
The timing will depend on how much time your application spent in
Program Integrity Assurance review. If there were no questions about
eligibility or discount level or if you answered such questions promptly,
AND if your requests were for "Priority One" services, then your letter may
be in the first waves. Otherwise, you will receive a decision about your
funding commitment in one of the later waves.
8. I filed my Form 471 on paper and it spent a long time in Problem
Resolution. I received a number of phone calls and faxes from SLD offices
in Kansas. How will that affect the timing of my letter?
The date of successful entry into the data system is one of the
three key factors for forming the waves. The Problem Resolution process was
focused completely on readying applications for data entry, so a lengthy
Problem Resolution process would mean a later data entry date and therefore
later delivery for review by the Program Integrity Assurance team. If your
application didn't require lengthy PIA review, you may still receive your
letter in on of the earlier waves.
9. I have some issues outstanding with your Program Integrity
Assurance team based in New Jersey. The extra documentation they're looking
for might take me several more days to complete. How will that affect the
timing of my letter?
To receive a funding commitment, applications must have completed
Program Integrity Assurance review, so you won't receive your letter until
we've resolved any outstanding PIA issues with you. The SLD has, however,
set aside funds to cover your telecommunications and internet access
requests, and have included your internal connections requests in their
working estimate of demand in your discount band, so that your PIA review
won't affect your actual funding, only the timing of your Funding Commitment
Decision letter.
Julie Tritt Schell
Director, Office of Educational Technology
Pennsylvania Department of Education
(717) 705-4486
(717) 787-7222 - fax
www.L2L.org
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