From Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org Tue Feb 3 08:39:08 2009 From: Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org (Carson, Sabrina) Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 08:39:08 -0800 Subject: [Erate] E-Rate Central News of the Week for February 2, 2009 Message-ID: <06D9FD985A42704BB0E8F483ACA3FE2E3EE50AFE52@miranda.wesd.org> See the attached newsletter for articles on: * FY 2007 ? FY 2009 Funding Status. Wave 76 for FY 2007 will be released on February 4th. Wave 38 for FY 2008 will to be released on February 3rd. The FY 2009 application window closes February 12th. * Further SLD Clarifications on Eligible Services. The SLD has provided additional guidance on the eligibility of Web hosting and VoIP routers (the latter relying on a rather fine distinction between a ?gateway? and a ?router?). * E-Rate Updates and Reminders. The Form 471 deadline for FY 2009 is February 12th. The SLD has completed trials on a new Helping Applicants to Succeed (?HATS?) program incorporating phone calls, video conferences, and/or on-site visits. The SLD?s Help Line will be open this coming weekend and will be operating thereafter on extended hours through the close of the window. * Schools and Libraries News Brief Dated January 30th. The SLD?s most recent News Brief provides answers to a number of common questions often received during the final days of the Form 471 application window. This newsletter lists these questions and provides ?short answers.? Please read the News Brief for more detailed answers. Sabrina Carson e-Rate and Procurement Customer Support Willamette Education Service District 2611 Pringle Rd SE Salem, OR 97302 P: 503.540.4495 F: 503.540.2962 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Week_02_02 - SECA.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 110080 bytes Desc: Week_02_02 - SECA.doc URL: From Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org Mon Feb 9 10:39:26 2009 From: Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org (Carson, Sabrina) Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:39:26 -0800 Subject: [Erate] E-Rate Central News of the Week for February 9, 2009 Message-ID: <06D9FD985A42704BB0E8F483ACA3FE2E3EEF01F42C@miranda.wesd.org> See the attached newsletter for articles on: * FY 2007 ? FY 2008 Funding Status. Wave 77 for FY 2007 will be released on February 12th. Wave 39 for FY 2008 will to be released on February 11th. * FY 2009 Applications: The Final Days. Warning: The Form 471 window for FY 2009 closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 12th. This article provides important information for applicants planning to file during the last few days. * E-Rate Updates and Reminders. The SLD?s Help Line will be operating on extended hours through the close of the window. The SLD?s online training site will be blocked prior to the close of the window to minimize potential problems. The SLD has confirmed the eligibility of text messaging as a cellular service feature. * Schools and Libraries News Brief Dated February 6th. The SLD?s most recent News Brief also provides guidance for late Form 471 filers. Sabrina Carson e-Rate and Procurement Customer Support Willamette Education Service District 2611 Pringle Rd SE Salem, OR 97302 P: 503.540.4495 F: 503.540.2962 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Week_02_09 - SECA.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 111104 bytes Desc: Week_02_09 - SECA.doc URL: From Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org Mon Feb 9 10:48:19 2009 From: Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org (Carson, Sabrina) Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 10:48:19 -0800 Subject: [Erate] Technology Plan Submission Update Message-ID: <06D9FD985A42704BB0E8F483ACA3FE2E3EEF01F44C@miranda.wesd.org> I wanted to take a moment to thank all the people that have submitted their technology plans so far. Although it was a rough year and some of the guidance came out at the last minute, I have been very pleased with the turnout so far. There are still 89 districts that need to submit a plan, but so far many of the districts I have talked to are asking for extensions because they learned so much at the trainings and want to take extra time to incorporate this information into their plans. I can't thank everyone enough for their patience and hard work on getting their plans in. If you haven't turned your plan in yet, please email me and request an extension so that I can make sure that I reach out to the right people. Don't forget that I'm available to answer questions as you are working on them. Please understand that the e-Rate form 471 window closes Thursday so I may be a little slow answering Tech Plan questions this week. My first priority for the next few days will be assisting districts with their forms, and after the window closes, I will start reviewing plans. Thank you so much! Sabrina Carson e-Rate and Procurement Customer Support Willamette Education Service District 2611 Pringle Rd SE Salem, OR 97302 P: 503.540.4495 F: 503.540.2962 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org Mon Feb 16 15:46:18 2009 From: Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org (Carson, Sabrina) Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:46:18 -0800 Subject: [Erate] E-Rate Central News of the Week for February 16, 2009 Message-ID: <06D9FD985A42704BB0E8F483ACA3FE2E3EEF8AA87D@miranda.wesd.org> See the attached newsletter for articles on: * FY 2009 Form 471 Application Window Closed ? Next Steps and the Schools and Libraries News Brief Dated February 13th. Both our article and the SLD?s News Brief discuss steps applicants should take to review and document their FY 2009 Form 471 application filings. * Relief from a Missed Application Deadline. An applicant, who submitted a timely Form 471 online, but who did not certify either their Form 471 or any referenced Form 470, will be given another opportunity to do so. Potential relief from a late-filed Form 470 or Form 471 is available only by filing a waiver request with the FCC. * No funding waves for FY 2008 or FY 2008 are scheduled for this week. Sabrina Carson e-Rate and Procurement Customer Support Willamette Education Service District 2611 Pringle Rd SE Salem, OR 97302 P: 503.540.4495 F: 503.540.2962 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Week_02_16 - SECA.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 108032 bytes Desc: Week_02_16 - SECA.doc URL: From Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org Thu Feb 26 09:44:17 2009 From: Sabrina.Carson at wesd.org (Carson, Sabrina) Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:44:17 -0800 Subject: [Erate] E-Rate Central News of the Week for February 23, 2009 Message-ID: <06D9FD985A42704BB0E8F483ACA3FE2E3EEFB426F2@miranda.wesd.org> See the attached newsletter for articles on: * FY 2007 ? FY 2009 Funding Status. PIA began contacting applicants regarding their FY 2009 applications last week. Wave 40 for FY 2008 is being delayed until the first week in March so as to extend the last date to receive non-recurring services for an additional year. One large FY 2007 funding award will be released next week. * E-Rate Evolution: February 12th was the important deadline date for FY 2009 applications, but it was also Charles Darwin?s 200th birthday. This article summarizes the key evolutionary developments of the E-rate program * E-Rate Updates and Reminders. The SLD suggests that applicants needing to file FCC waivers of the FY 2009 application deadline wait until they receive USAC?s out-of-the-window notifications. The DOJ announced an $8.2 million settlement with a subsidiary of AT&T for alleged E-rate violations. * Schools and Libraries News Brief Dated February 20th. The SLD?s most recent News Brief provides guidance on the preparation and submission of Item 21 attachments. Also, and update on Free and Reduced Lunch numbers: While some of you may have been able to gather current stats for your schools to use on your form 471, many of you used the previous year?s numbers. While ODE is preparing to release the Free and Reduced Lunch statistics for 08-09, those numbers stand to be drastically different than what your districts may be experiencing now. I suggest, if it is feasible, for those districts that used last year?s numbers to conduct a survey or an application drive in order to get current statistics before PIA review begins. With the drastic changes in unemployment rates, more families need help, and not only can you help identify those families and provide services, but you can possibly increase the support provided to you by the e-Rate program. You can provide the updated numbers to the PIA reviewer so that your discount rate can be recalculated. Here is some information from USAC about acceptable ways that this information can be gathered and calculated: http://www.universalservice.org/sl/applicants/step05/alternative-discount-mechanisms.aspx As always, please contact me if you have any questions. Sabrina Carson e-Rate and Procurement Customer Support Willamette Education Service District 2611 Pringle Rd SE Salem, OR 97302 P: 503.540.4495 F: 503.540.2962 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Week_02_23 - SECA.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 113664 bytes Desc: Week_02_23 - SECA.doc URL: