Maximizing E-rate to Fund

your Connectivity Upgrades

Missouri Association of School

Administrators Conference

Agenda

Our Connectivity Story: Fatima Schools

The Connect & Learn Initiative & FundLearn more about the state-wide connectivity initiative as well as the opportunity to utilize

state funding to cover 100% of your fiber build-out costs

E-rate 101: Category 2 FundingWhat is C2 funding? Am I eligible? How can I utilize the funding?

Free Support for Your UpgradeResources to help you utilize your funding

2

3

4

1

Q&A5

Today’s Presenters

Chris SchneiderState E-rate Coordinator schneider@more.net

Bryn MurrayProgram ManagerEducationSuperHighwaybryn@educationsuperhighway.org

Jenny Lam State Engagement ManagerEducationSuperHighwayJenny.lam@educationsuperhighway.org

Brian StegemanIT DirectorFatima Schoolsbrian.stegeman@fatimacomets.org

The Connect & Learn Initiative & Fund

What is the Connect & Learn Initiative and Fund?

Fiber infrastructure to every school leveraging the newly established state matching fund, which allows districts to build new scalable infrastructure at no cost

The goal of the initiative is to ensure that all MO districts have access to:

Sufficient bandwidth to every student (at least 100 kbps/student, or ideally 1 Mbps/student)

Robust internal connections (Wi-Fi connectivity) in every classroom

Affordable bandwidth to every district, optimizing E-rate program funding

• We worked on projects impacting over 79 districts, impacting nearly

100,000 students

• 13 districts applied for the state matching fund, leveraging $300,000

District Highlights

Wellsville-Middletown R1

● 80% E-rate Discount

● Will upgrade from copper to fiber

● Bandwidth increased from 20Mbps to 1Gbps;

will be paying $200 less per month

“The prediction is that bandwidth is growing with time,

so we thought to get it now while we could.

The new state funding was a great opportunity

and the right timing.”

Holliday C-2

● 80% E-rate Discount

● Will increase bandwidth 16x - from 30 Mbps

wireless to 500 Mbps fiber

● Will be paying 1/3rd of the price for their

Internet connectivity compared to last year

“The biggest thing was understanding that fiber

internet was affordable. [Our upgrade] will

definitely make a big difference down the road.”

E-rate 101: Category 2 Funding

Understanding the room…

Does your school district file for

Category 2 through E-rate?

1.Yes

2.No

3.I don’t know

What is E-rate? What are the two different categories?

The E-rate program is operated by the Universal Service Administrative Company

(USAC) under the FCC

$3.9 billion is available annually for schools

E-rate funds K-12 broadband connectivity & infrastructure:

INTERNETSCHOOL

DISTRICT

OFFICE

Wi-Fi

Internet

Access

Wide Area Network

(WAN)

SCHOOLS CLASSROOMS DEVICES

Local Area Network

(LAN)

Category 1

INTERNET

Category 2

LAN/WI-FI

FOCUS

connectivity issues

FOCUS

infrastructure hardware & services

Districts in Missouri with any Category 2 funding

Over 350 school districts in Missouri are part of MOREnet, which only procures

Category 1 services

There is $26.6M remaining in unused Category 2 funding in the state of MO, spread across

156 districts

*See appendix for full list of districts with C2 funding remaining

$150

Student Count

Cat 2 E-rate Discount %*

Total Category 2 Funding per School

Category 2 Funds Available per School

X

X

EXAMPLE: SCHOOL A1,000 STUDENTS

80% CAT 2 DISCOUNT RATE

5 year purchase limit $150 x 1,000 (students) = $150,000

E-rate funds available $150,000 x 80% (discount) = $120,000

Total cost to School A = $ 30,000

-

*Find your E-rate discount percentage at usac.org: https://www.usac.org/_res/documents/sl/pdf/samples/Discount-Matrix.pdf

All schools are eligible to take advantage of a $150 per student budget over 5 years to upgrade internal

networks (inflation adjusted). Funding became available in FY2015 and is available for 5 years

EducationSuperHighway’s CompareandConnectK12 tool will also

provide the total district amount of funding remaining (update coming)

Go to https://sltools.universalservice.org/portal-

external/budgetLookup/

1. Go to the website above

2. Enter each of your schools’ entity

numbers (BEN ID) to find out

remaining Category 2 budget

How much funding does my district still have?

What can Category 2 pay for?

WIRELESS

Access Points

Controllers

Antennas

Cloud-based wireless controllers

WIRED

Structured cabling (copper/fiber)

Network switches

Racks & patch panels

Routers

OTHER

Caching – HW / SW / Services

Firewall Services

Improvements, upgrades, & software necessary to distribute broadband

Taxes + surcharges & shipping charges on Category 2 equipment

Installation & configuration by Value Added Resellers (Cat 2 service

provider)

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Licenses for eligible equipment

Software that support eligible equipment

Training on eligible equipment

Managed internal broadband (Managed Wi-Fi)

E-rate Category 2 covers wired and wireless equipment, installation and maintenance as well as a number of “other” network services

What’s next?

E-Rate funding

year begins:

• Assess your

district’s needs

• Create an EPC log-

in

• Attend E-rate how-to

webinars hosted by

EducationSuperHig

hway and your State

E-rate Coordinator

File for E-rate

funding:

• Design your

upgrade plan

• File your Form 470

via your EPC log-in

• Utilize ESH’s E-rate

tools, such as RFP

templates

Select provider

and apply for

funding:

• Evaluate bids and

select service

provider

• File your Form 471

to confirm funding

Upgrade network:

• Receive funding

commitment from

USAC

• Upgrade network

and install new

equipment

Our Connectivity Story: Fatima Schools

Who are we? Fatima Schools

Location Jefferson City/Columbia

# of K-12 students 850

Current Connectivity 28.5 Mbps of download, 11.5Mbps of upload

Connectivity after upgrade 1,000 Mbps (1 Gbps)

So close, yet so far

Our E-rate Connectivity Story

• AT&T – our only service provider?

• 10 year long journey to upgrading our

internet infrastructure

• Our pending E-rate request

• Our Category 2 usage

Free Support for Your Upgrade

How does EducationSuperHighway help?

Fiber Bandwidth & Affordability

Wi-Fi

Scalable infrastructure (e.g. fiber or equivalent) to every

school by leveraging the newly established $6M state

matching fund

Cost-effective bandwidth to

every student (at least

100kbps/student, or ideally

1 Mbps/student) by

evaluating your upgrade

options

Robust internal

connections in every

classroom by helping you

understand and best use

all your available E-rate Category 2 funding

We work with your district to attain:

How does the State E-rate Coordinator help?

• Filing a E-rate form (i.e. 470, 471, 486, 500)

• New E-rate rules and filing information

• PIA reviews

• State Data File Validations

• E-rate Trainings

The State E-rate Coordinator’s role is to ensure that districts have a go-to source for all things E-rate (regardless of MOREnet membership).

You can receive assistance in regards to:

Upcoming Webinars & Events

September 4, 2018

State E-rate Coordinator Webinar: Form 470 Funding Year 2019 update

October 2, 2018

State E-rate Coordinator Webinar: Category 2 FAQ

October 10, 2018

ESH Category 2 Webinar: Bid Evaluation Best Practices

September 19, 2018

ESH Category 2 Webinar: Optimize Your Internal Network Upgrade

October 3, 2018

ESH Category 2 Webinar: How to Launch a Successful Procurement

December 4, 2018

State E-rate Coordinator Webinar:Category 2 and the Form 500

Q & A

Appendix

Appendix: All districts with C2 funding remaining

South Holt School District R 1 Fox School District C 6 Hillsboro School District R 3

Marion C Early R 5 School Dist Gallatin School District R 5 Scott City School District R 1

Breckenridge R-I Grain Valley School Dist R 5 Iron County School District C4

Hale R-1 School Stewartsville C-2 Jasper School District R 5

Odessa School District R 7 Shawnee R-Iii Kansas City School District

Mound City R 2 Leopold R-Iii Kelso School District C 7

Midway School District R 1 New Haven Oregon-Howell School Dist R 3

Neelyville School District R 4 Miller Co. R-Iii Lathrop School District R 2

East Newton School District R6 Raymondville R-Vii Leesville School District R 9

Altenburg 48 Pettis Co. R-Xii Macks Creek School District R5

Miami R-1 Meadville R-Iv Macon County School Dist R 1

Gilliam C-4 New York R-Iv Ballard School District R 2

Joplin R8 Schools Mark Twain R-Viii Bayless School District

Gasconade County R-2 Spickard R-Ii Scott County School Dist R 4

North Pemiscot School Dist R 1 Hardeman R-X Blue Springs Sch District R 4

New Madrid Co School Dist R1 Pettis Co. R-V North St Francois Sch Dist R 1

Aurora School District R 8 Malta Bend R-V Missouri City Elem School

Appendix: All districts with C2 funding remaining

Boonville R-1 School District Bunker R-Iii Monroe City School Dist R 1

Monett School District R 1 Phelps Co. R-Iii New Bloomfield R3

Nodaway-Holt School Dist R 7 Boncl R-X Newburg School District R 2

Hazelwood School District Gasconade C-4 Newtown-Harris School Dist R 3

Independence Mo Public Schools Bucklin R-Ii Hamilton School District R 2

Jefferson School District R 7 Cowgill R-Vi School District Hannibal School District 60

Liberal School District R 2 Spring Bluff Elem School Harrisonville Sch District R 9

Lockwood School District R 1 Tina-Avalon School District R2 Hermitage School District R 4

Jefferson City School District Crocker School District R 2 Lafayette County Sch Dist C 1

Salisbury School District R 4 North Wood R-Iv School Putnam Co School District R 1

Carrollton School District R 7 Morgan County School Dist R 2 Reeds Spring School Dist R 4

Steelville School District R 3 Walnut Grove School Dist R 5 Richland R-Iv

Centralia R6 School District Washington School District Ridgeway School District R 5

De Soto School District 73 Wentzville R-Iv School District Ripley County School Dist R 3

Webster Groves School District West Plains School District R-7 Ripley County School Dist R 4

Brentwood School District Everton School District R 3 Rock Port School District R 2

Appendix: All districts with C2 funding remaining

Northwest R-1 School District Festus School District R 6 Bowling Green Sch District R 1

Raymore-Peculiar School District Willow Springs School Dist R 4 Bradleyville School Dist R 1

Clearwater School Dist R 1 Windsor School District C 1 Delta C-7 School District

Bosworth School District R 5 Niangua School District R 5 Bronaugh School District R 7

Mountain Grove School Dist R 3 Roscoe School District C 1 Winona School District R 3

North Daviess Sch District R 3 Seymour School District R 2 Adrian School District R 3

Logan- Rogersville R 8 Schools North Shelby Adair Co. R-Ii

Lakeland School District R 3 Cainsville School District R 1 Thornfield R-I

Calhoun School District R 8 Nell Holcomb School Dist R 4 Hudson R-Ix

Moniteau Co School Dist R 1 South Nodaway School Dist R 4 Plainview R-Viii

Livingston Co School Dist R 3 Southwest Livingston Co S D R1 Blackwater R-Ii

Craig School District R 3 Southwest Barry Co Sch Dist R5 Pleasant View R-Vi

Davis School District R12 Chaffee R- Ii School District Mirabile C-1

Dora School District R 3 Strafford School District R 6 Norwood School District R 1

Skyline School District R 2 Strasburg School District C 3 Paris School District R 2

Strain-Japan School Dist R 16 Sturgeon School District R 5 Meadow Heights School Dist R 2

Glasgow Schools Sweet Springs School Dist R 7 Pilot Grove C-4

Middle Grove C-1 Taneyville School District R 2 Plato School District R 5

Howell Valley R-IPoplar Bluff School Dist R 1

Platte County School Dist R 3