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Year 12 (FY09) E-rate Window Closes - Now What?
Message Posted February 18, 2009
Congratulations to everyone who successfully submitted and postmarked or ecertified their Form 471s by midnight February 12, 2009!
The next phase in the funding process is for the SLD to review the 36,000+ applications that were filed in the window, to determine if they have complied with all program rules and deserve funding. PIA should be contacting applicants within the next week. To check the status of your application, go to http://www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp and click on "Application Status" then enter your Billed Entity Number.
Listed below are the next steps that you should review.
1) Print a Copy of Your 471
If you haven't already done so, go back to the SLD website and print a copy of your submitted 471 for your files. Go to: http://www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp, then "Display." Select 'original' version of your form to view.
2) Submit Your Item 21 Attachments
If you haven't done so already, don't forget to submit your Item 21 attachments that provide the SLD with information to support each funding request. Attachments were not required to be postmarked within the window, although the SLD cannot review your application until these are submitted.
The easiest and preferred way to submit your attachments is through the SLD's Online Item 21 system (http://www.sl.universalservice.org/menu.asp then "Item 21 Attachment"). If you receive an error, use your browser's 'back' button and try again. This usually works. A primer on using the Online Item 21 system and submitting Item 21s via the traditional method is available at: http://www.e-ratepa.org/Listserve-Archive/2009/02-12-09.htm
3) Review Your Receipt Acknowledgement Letter (RAL)
For each 471 submitted, you will be receiving a yellow envelope containing your Receipt Acknowledgment Letter ("RAL"). The RAL acknowledges receipt of the application and summarizes each of your funding requests. REVIEW THIS DATA PROMPTLY. If the summarized data is accurate, no applicant action is required. If errors are found, or if you would like to cancel an FRN, you can correct your application or cancel the FRN using the RAL but you only have 20 days from the date on the RAL to do it.
You can use the RAL to make almost any change to the 471 application -- including adding or removing entities from Block 4, changing the discount calculation information, or changing the amount requested on an FRN -- even if it increases your discount and your funding request!
4) Review Your Technology Plan: Is your technology plan up-to-date? Does it expire in 2009?
Be sure that you have a technology plan in place that covers the services included in your 471(s) and that it covers the full Year 12 funding year (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010). If your technology plan expires, needs updated, etc, be sure you submit it to the appropriate approving agency ASAP as the plans must be approved by July 1, 2009. If you are a public school entity and you are unsure when your plan is due, contact the eTechPlanner helpdesk at 717-732-8403 or etechplanner@caiu.org.
5) Review your 2008/09 Draft Budget
Does your 2009/2010 budget contain your non-discounted amount or "fair share"? Meaning, if you requested $40,000 and your discount is 50%, is your share -- $20,000 -- in your budget? Don't forget, if you are planning to receive the non-discounted portion of the request from a grant (such as the eFund grant), you must have that grant outlined in your budget as a source of revenue. Also, grants may not come from service providers; likewise, the non-discounted share cannot be "forgiven" by vendors.
6) Review Your Contracts
Unless you were purchasing on a month-to-month basis or under a 1-year tariff, you were required to have contracts in place before you submitted your 471. So you'll want to doublecheck that you have the contracts in place, with the contract signing date on or before the date you submitted your 471 (and, of course, after your Form 470, 28 day waiting period expired).
7) Wait for PIA Review
The Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) review is a detailed application review conducted by PIA staff in Whippany, New Jersey. Inquires from PIA reviewers (identified by direct telephone numbers with a 973 area code) generally involve requests for clarification and/or additional documentation on product or applicant eligibility, discount rate calculations, non-instructional facility validation, etc. These are serious inquires that must be addressed in a timely fashion. PIA inquiries typically provide 7-day deadlines for response, although extensions may be granted upon request. PIA review is often a multi-step process. A reviewer may request additional data once he (or a higher-level review team) has reviewed an initial response, or may initiate a second request on an entirely different application issue.
8) Retain Your Records
The FCC rules require applicants and service providers to keep a myriad of documents. Here is what is required to be kept relating to competitive bidding, contracts and 471 application process:
Request(s) for Proposal (RFP(s), including evidence of the publication date; bid evaluation criteria and weighting; bid evaluation worksheets; all written correspondence between the beneficiary and prospective bidders regarding the products and service sought; all bids submitted, winning and losing; and documents related to the selection of service provider(s); executed contracts, signed and dated by both parties as well as all amendments and addendums; all documents relied upon to submit the Form 471; including National School Lunch Program eligibility documentation supporting the discount percentage sought; documents to support the necessary resources certification, including budgets; and documents used to prepare the Item 21 description of services attachment.
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So sit back, review your RAL for accuracy, submit your Item 21 attachments if you haven't already done so, make sure your technology plan is up to date, make sure that your 2009 budget contains the non-discounted portion of the cost of the service, and wait for PIA to contact you! The next form to submit will be the Form 486, and you can't file that until after you receive your funding commitment decision letter. I'll explain more when that time comes.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions! And again… congratulations on another successful E-rate filing window!
Julie Tritt Schell
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