Maximizing Discounts Year Six

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
HELP IS AVAILABLE http//www.e-ratecentral.com h
ttp//www.fundsforlearning.com http//www.sl.univ
ersalservice.org [phone] http//www.pen.k1
2.va.us/VDOE/Technology
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
REVIEW OF BASICS Gregs E-Rate Rules of
20 Over 20 of requests denied 20 of money
not claimed 20 turnover of coordinators
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
REVIEW OF BASICS Build Your E-Rate Team -
Purchasing - Technology - Business
office - School Nutrition
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• Develop a Technology Plan
• - Approved by certified approver
• File Form 470
• - For all new contracts
• - Yearly for T and MTM
• - Wait 28 days! (2 denied)
• - Mail Certification! (3 denied)

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• Sign Contracts
• - E-Rate participating vendors
• - Eligible services
• Discounts or retroactive
• payments
• - Services occur during fund year

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• File Form 471(new form)
• File during filing window
• File online!
• Eligible entities (7 denied)
• - Document discount rate
• - Eligible services (3 denied)
• - Stay in the window

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• Receipt Acknowledgement Letter
• - Check for accuracy!
• - Confirms data entry and
• - Certification receipt
• - 14 days to fix mistakes

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• PIA Review
• Return phone calls!
• Provide requested documentation
• (Seven days to answer requests)
• Build relationship with PIA rep.
• Contact state rep when in trouble

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• Item 25 Review
• Tech plan meets service request
• Support resources (4 denied)
• Verify adequate training
• Verify bidding process
• Adequate facilities
• Lucky few chosen

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• Funding Commitment Letter!!
• Review carefully
• Start services or -
• Appeal all denials

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• File Form 486!
• Within 120 days of service start
• In most cases October 28!
• CIPA compliance
• Lets bills be paid!

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• REVIEW OF BASICS
• File Form 472!
• Within 120 days of service end
• In most cases October 28!
• Dont file, lose money!
• Gets money to you!

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• LAST MINUTE REMINDER
• File Form 472 For Year 4!!
• Almost 1,000,000,000 left over
• October 28 is deadline!
• Service provider must sign form
• Look at extension guidance on
• SLD Web site

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• ELIGIBLE SERVICES LIST
• Released Friday October 15
• - Clarification on some items
• - If not on list, assume ineligible
• - Connectivity is key
• - Transmission

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• ELIGIBLE SERVICES LIST
• Telecommunications
• - Leased, tariffed, contracted, or
• month-to-month services used to
• communicate information electronically
• between sites
• - Eligible if provided by a common carrier
• - Supports a wide range of services

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• ELIGIBLE SERVICES LIST
• Internet Access
• - Basic conduit access to the Internet
• - Priority one service
• - Can be provided by any vendor
• - Much more limited than
• Telecommunications

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• ELIGIBLE SERVICES LIST
• Internal Connections
• - Wiring an other connections that
• expand the data network within
• school or library
• - Transport not storage
• - Does not include end user equipment
• - Priority two service

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• ELIGIBLE SERVICES LIST
• Internal Connections
• - Demand may eclipse ALL funding for IC
• - 500,000 rule does NOT apply
• - Use only for high discount applications
• - Most libraries not high enough discount...

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• GETTING THE MOST OF E-RATE
• Plan Your Strategy
• - Maximize discount rate
• - Maximize discounted services
• - Transform priority two services
• - Wide area networks
• - Do no harm

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• MAXIMIZE DISCOUNT RATE
• Identify Students Eligible for NSLP
• - Sibling match method
• - Survey
• - Other methods
• When to use Alternatives

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• SIBLING MATCH METHOD
• Siblings of Older Students
• - Lives in same household
• - One sibling eligible for NSLP
• - Can double discount at HS
• - Document!

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• SURVEY REQUIREMENTS
• Sent to all families
• Return rate of at least 50
• Contain the following information
• Address of family
• Grade level of each child
• Size of the family
• Income level of the parents

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• SURVEY REQUIREMENTS
• Must Assure Confidentiality
• Extrapolate results
• - 50 of surveys returned
• - 30 eligible for F/R lunch
• - 60 of students eligible
• - Which is an 80 discount!

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• SURVEY SUGGESTIONS
• Survey Questions
• - Family income level at or below
• 185 of the federal poverty level
• Participation in programs
• - Medicaid
• - Food stamps
• - Supplementary Security Income

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• SURVEY REQUIREMENTS
• Participation in programs
• - Federal public housing
• assistance (Section 8)
• - Low Income Home Energy
• Assistance Program

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• SURVEY vs. ALTERNATIVES
• Even if less than 50 of surveys
• are returned, count students
• independent of survey
• indicating participation in SLD
• approved alternative programs.

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
Last Word on Alternative Calculations - Share
results with state DOE - Share results with
libraries - Stand firm when questioned by PIA!
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
Using Consortia to Increase Discounts Consortium
discounts are based on the SIMPLE average of all
participants. Large school division with low
discount partners with a single high discount
school
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
Using Consortia to Increase Discounts
School District 50 Other
School 90 Discount Rate 70!!
But there are key points to remember
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
Using Consortia to Increase Discounts
- All members must have approved
technology plan - The 470 must include all
members - Contracts must include all
members - The high discount school
must receive its appropriate
discount (not free service) - A
letter of agency must be signed
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
Using Consortia to Increase Discounts
Letter of Agency Requirements - Members are
eligible - Covered by technology plans -
Only using services for education - Item 25
issues - Compliance with all other program
rules - Records will be kept for 5 years
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• OTHER IMPORTANT RULES
• 30 Percent Rules
• 67 Percent Rule
• 500,000 Rule

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
30 Percent Rule Part I If SLD determines that
30 percent or more of a funding request (a
single Block 5) is ineligible for funding, the
entire funding request will be denied. (3
percent denied) - When in doubt, break it out!
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
30 Percent Rule, Part II If SLD determines that
30 percent or more of a Priority One funding
request is actually Internal Connections, the
entire funding request will be changed to I. C.
and likely not funded. No details on denial rate,
but is significant.
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
67 Percent Rule For funding requests that
include on-premise equipment for Priority One
service, no more than 67 percent of the request
can be for capital costs of such on-premise
equipment (more later).
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
500,000 Rule In some cases, E-Rate funding is
eligible for vendor capital expenses at vendor
central office (and other places) in order to
provide service to applicant. If capital costs
exceed 500,000, then the amount must be
amortized over at least three years.
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING COSTS
T1
School 2
DSL
School 1
School 3
LAN Eligible? DSL Line? Telephone Lines?
Admin. Building
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING COSTS
T1
School 2
DSL
School 3
Admin. Building
LAN Eligible? DSL Line? Telephone Lines?
School 1
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING COSTS
For answers to these questions, see The
Administrative Offices and Buildings Fact Sheet
on the Schools and Libraries Reference Web page

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• One-Time Charges
• Brooklyn Library Decision
• One-time charges for vendor central
• office equipment eligible
• If one-time charges exceed 500,000
• must amortize over at least three years
• (Including on-premise and install costs)
• Excellent for high bandwidth projects

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• One-Time Charges
• Usually exempt from 67 percent rule
• Must be part of cost effective solution
• Way for new companies to participate
• Same category as installation charges

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• INTERNAL CONNECTIONS AS PRI. 1
• Tennessee Decision
• 500,000, 30 and 67 rules apply
• Limited to WAN components
• Never owned by applicant
• No exclusive use by applicant
• LAN must operate without equipment
• Used only for eligible services

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

WIDE AREA NETWORKS - Fully eligible if leased
from common carrier - Must be used for eligible
purpose - Must serve eligible entities for
discount - Non-common carriers may provide
Internet
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

WIRELESS WIDE AREA NETWORKS Wireless WAN
transmission equipment - antennas, transmitters,
receivers, transmission line outside building are
considered eligible as priority one Towers that
hold antennas are NEVER eligible
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

OUTSIDE FUNDING SOURCES The tale of MasterMind
and lessons learned Grants are acceptable, as
long as they are secured BEFORE filing the
471 Use of previous E-Rate discounts to fund new
applications A question of certification
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE With 2.25 Billion at
stake
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
APPEALS Appeal ALL denials Appeal must be
submitted within 60 days of the DATE on the
Commitment Letter Appeal to SLD or FCC, not both
at same time State case clearly and cite SLD
mistake or Relate to FCC regulation or Act
language Copy to Washington Representatives!
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• RECAP
• Put E-Rate team together
• Develop technology plan
• File Form 470
• Wait 28 days!!!
• Sign contract, agreement, etc
• Verify eligible services!

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• RECAP
• File Form 471
• During filing window!!
• Verify RAL information
• File form 486
• Receive services
• File Form 472
• Repeat as necessary

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
HELP IS AVAILABLE http//www.e-ratecentral.com h
ttp//www.fundsforlearning.com http//www.sl.univ
ersalservice.org [phone] http//www.pen.k1
2.va.us/VDOE/Technology
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
A school must use NSLP participation to calculate
discounts True or False
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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• The SLD considers multi-year Tariffed
  arrangements as Contracts
• True or False

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six
Under the FCC rules of priority, who receives
E-rate funding first?

• Everyone who applies for telecom services and
  internet access
• Applicants with discounts of 90
• Applicants who have never applied before

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• Which of these services is not eligible for
  telecommunications funding?
• Basic phone service
• Cellular phones
• T1 lines
• ISDN lines
• Leased satellite dishes

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Maximizing Discounts Year Six

• The Form 486 is used to
• Return unused funds to the SLD
• Request discounts
• Post requests to SLD web site
• Tell the SLD to turn on funding/CIPA
  certification