posted on August 21, 2009 19:03
CONTACT:
For CoSN
Jennifer Cummings
202/822-9491
jcummings@fratelli.com
E-Rate Critical to Forthcoming National Broadband Education Plan
Washington, DC (August 20, 2009) – In testimony before a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) National Broadband Plan Workshop on education,
Dr. Sheryl Abshire, on behalf of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), highlighted the importance of the E-Rate program, which provides discounts for broadband and other telecommunications services to schools and libraries nationwide. Dr. Abshire, who is the Immediate Past Chair of CoSN’s Board of Directors and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Lake Charles, LA, also recommended that the E-Rate program play a major role in the forthcoming national broadband plan.
“When the E-Rate began, our connectivity consisted of a few dial-up connections in our school libraries, and our technology professional development program consisted of random trainings to teach teachers just how to turn on the computers and, occasionally, how to use a specific program with a student,” said Abshire. “Today, this has all changed. We now have over 20,000 computers connected to our network and, at any given moment, over 12,000 of them are accessing the network. Each day, our students, teachers and administrators make more than 5 million web page or network object requests, send or receive over 35,000 email messages, and transmit 18.5 gigabytes of data.”
As the district CTO, Abshire is responsible for the Calcasieu Parish school district’s E-Rate applications and audits. Speaking from personal experience, she discussed how the program has provided more than $5 million in discounts to the district to significantly upgrade infrastructure; support phone, cellphone and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services; install and upgrade a high-speed network for the district’s 60 schools; and expand bandwidth for IP video services.
While the program has many benefits, Abshire also addressed reforms that should be made to enhance E-Rate’s effectiveness, including raising the annual funding cap. “Since the program’s second year, the Commission has not raised the E-Rate’s annual cap above its current $2.25 billion funding level, not even providing it an inflation adjustment,” she said. “On average, annual demand for E-Rate support outstrips the annual cap by $1.75 billion, with this year’s $3.99 billion demand mirroring the average shortfall.”
Citing data that shows the imbalance between funding for Priority I and Priority II demands, Abshire stated, “If these current trends persist and there are fewer available unused funds in the system to roll over, the Commission and USAC may soon have to begin turning down 90% schools and libraries for internal connections. That is not enhancing broadband penetration, it is effectively stopping it.”
She also recommended that the current program rules be amended to “allow community members to use E-Rate supported services for continuing education and similar purposes during non-school hours.” According to Abshire, this change would allow districts to provide community classes for underprivileged and working poor families in need of basic technology proficiencies and allow schools to grant requests from community agencies to use training labs after hours.
“The E-Rate has already proven to be of major significance in providing broadband to schools and libraries nationwide and I am confident that it can play an even larger role in future broadband dissemination and usage if its annual cap is raised and its after-school use rules are relaxed,” Abshire concluded.
To learn more about CoSN, visit http://www.cosn.org.
About the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)
CoSN is the premier professional association for district technology leaders. The mission of CoSN is to empower K-12 district technology leaders to use technology strategically for the improvement of teaching and learning. CoSN provides leadership, community and advocacy essential for the success of these leaders.
CoSN leadership initiatives include:
Cyber Security for the Digital District (www.securedistrict.org)
Data-Driven Decision-Making (www.3d2know.org)
Empowering the 21st Century Superintendent (www.superintendentempower.org)
Green Computing (www.cosn.org/greencomputing)
IT Crisis Preparedness (www.cosn.org/ITCrisisPrep)
K-12 Open Technologies (www.k12opentech.org)
Small District Technology Leadership (http://72.3.238.178/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page)
Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom (www.classroomtco.org)
Value of Investment (www.edtechvoi.org)
Web2.0 Policy and Leadership (http://www.cosn.org/web2_0/).
CoSN’s membership is a unique blend of education and technology leaders, and decision makers from the public and private sectors. Visit www.cosn.org or phone 866/267-8747 to find out more about CoSN’s programs, events and resources supporting and promoting leadership development, advocacy and connections to ensure that technology is used strategically for the improvement of teaching and learning in elementary and secondary schools.
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