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  • 1.  E-rate: help please!

    Posted 07-20-2022 05:39 PM
    Edited by Ashley Cross 07-21-2022 01:32 PM

    E-rate has come up a lot lately.

    • Do you use it?

    • Which department at the school is responsible for the application process? (Business office or tech? Both?)

    • If you recommend any particular e-rate consultants, that would be great to share.

    • Any pitfalls to watch out for?

    • Do you have a success story?

    I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
    #SustainingInnovationandLookingAhead

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    Dr. Ashley Cross
    Senior Director of Education and Content
    www.theatlis.org
    888-502-8547
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  • 2.  RE: E-rate: help please!

    Posted 07-21-2022 12:06 PM
    I had a great discussion with John Beem <jbeem@quinnesolutions.com> last year when some extra funds were being offered for devices. Unfortunatley it didn't seem like the savings in our case was worth the effort of documentation and fees.

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    Brian Hoyt
    French American School of Puget Sound
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: E-rate: help please!

    Posted 07-21-2022 12:30 PM
    At my previous school and here, Tech is responsible for application, supported by the Business Office.

    I highly recommend Greg Lowry and his team at HWC Consultants (www.hwc-consultants.com). They assisted me at my previous school with both Cat 1 and Cat 2 successfully, and even weathered an audit.

    Pitfalls - Keep everything. Not just in email, really make a concerted effort to keep copies. Audits appear to be utterly random - we were audited on a project that was comparatively small. They checked everything, including documentation on evaluating different vendors, the bidding process, and so on. It went fine, but was an absolute time sink.

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    Nikki Imai
    Director of Enterprise Technology
    St. Margarets Episcopal School
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: E-rate: help please!

    Posted 07-21-2022 04:07 PM

    Thanks!

    Nikki, is that the same Greg Lowery that used to be at Schooley Mitchell? Did he start his own consulting firm? 



    ------------------------------
    Dr. Ashley Cross
    Senior Director of Education and Content
    www.theatlis.org
    888-502-8547
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: E-rate: help please!

    Posted 07-21-2022 06:53 PM
    The very same. Yep.

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    Nikki Imai
    Director of Enterprise Technology
    St. Margarets Episcopal School
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: E-rate: help please!

    Posted 07-22-2022 03:21 PM
    Hi Ashley,

    We use eRate Program LLC.  https://erateprogram.com/erate/public/  They make sure I don't miss a deadline.  They keep track of all the rules and give me simple forms to fill out.  When our school has a complicated situation, they are always available by phone to make sure our paperwork is in order and we are getting the maximum benefit.  

    The tech department is responsible for filing the e-Rate paperwork.  We provide a listing, including SKUs of all of our networking equipment - routers and WAPs.  I have to work directly with our vendors to keep up with the details on the equipment. I don't know how the finance department could do this.

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    Tina Abbott
    Director of Technology
    The Heritage School
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    Original Message


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