FILE FORM 470s BEFORE LEAVING FOR HOLIDAYS
Message Posted December 20, 2004
If you haven't done so already, you'll want to post your E-rate Form 470
before your school closes for the holidays. Although the official deadline
is January 18 (29 days
before the 471 window closes on Feb. 17), you don't want to wait this long
to file, as it will only give you one day to open bids, evaluate proposals,
sign contracts, and file your 471 inside the window. DON'T PUT IT OFF ANY
LONGER -- DO IT NOW (please!)
The new Form 470 has not yet been released, so go ahead and use the current
Form 470 that's online. It is being accepted until the new 470 is released.
On January 3, I will be sending out my infamous list of districts that
haven't posted their 470's, so if you don't want to be on my list, file now!
Helpful 470 Reminders:
* If you will be signing a multi-year contract, or know of a possibility of
signing a multi-year contract, you need to list either the length of the
contract or the possibility of a multi-year contract in Item 13 on 470.
* You must keep all winning and losing proposals for 5 years.
* You must keep a log of all vendor inquiries during the bidding process.
* You also must keep track of the evaluation process you used to select the
winning proposal. Don't forget... you may have as many criteria as you
like, but price (alone) of eligible services or products must be the
heaviest weighted factor. For example,
if you have 4 criteria that you are using to judge proposals, price must be
at least 26% of the weight, will all others being 25% or less.
* If you filed your 470, but realized there's something you need to add or
correct, you cannot amend a posted 470. But you can file a new 470, listing
the service that you forgot. But if you do so, remember, the 28 day clock
starts over.
* Instead of using the print preview feature, after you've submitted your
470, go back to the "apply online" page and choose the "search posted"
option. Then type in your 470 number and print off a complete, clean copy
of your application. The same advice applies to the 471. After you've hit
submit, go back to the "apply online" page. Then under the 471 column,
choose "display" and type in your 471 application number.
If you have any questions, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
-- Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
jtschell@comcast.net
(717) 730.7133 (voice)
(717) 730.9060 (fax)
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