“Waste Not, Want Not”

While we are on the subject of money… A surprising number of districts don't fully utilize their E-Rate funds. In fact, school districts' use of awarded E-rate funds have declined from 80 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2004; according to an E-Rate consulting firm Funds for Learning.

Sheila Riley has written an article on lessons from the School District of Philadelphia who are model E-Rate recipients. They believe the maxim, "Waste not, want not" are words to live by. Sheila also gives an E-Rate legislative update at: www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=188701657

A key aspect of making the most of E-Rate funding involves the often thankless, but nonetheless crucial, task of paperwork. Peter Kaplan, director of regulatory affairs for Funds for Learning, notes that districts often lose out on E-Rate money simply because they fail to make filing deadlines. "Each spending request has several dates and deadlines associated with it, whether it's an installation, payment, or Form 486 deadline," he says. E-Rate filing deadlines can be found at www.eratemanager.com.

Another mistake, says Kaplan, is handing the paperwork job to someone on the low end of the office hierarchy. He cautions us, "Someone relatively high up on the food chain needs to manage and oversee the program, there's a lot of money at stake here." Administrators take note: this strategy is worth a look!

Is your E-Rate manager high enough on the decision making latter to make a difference?