REBATE PLAN YIELDS GOOD RETURNS FOR JACKSON DISTRICT

JACKSON -- A federal program benefiting public schools and libraries will provide the Jackson School District with nearly $21,000 this year.

Technology director Bob Bartley said the school district has received three checks totalling $16,084 from the E-rate program. Another check for $4,822 is expected this month in discounts for Internet and telephone service costs accrued by the district between January 1 and June 30.

"We go ahead and do business as usual, fill out the federal forms, and hope we are selected," Bartley said. "We actually started working on our technology plan for this in 1997 and are just now receiving funding."

The E-rate program is managed by the Schools and Libraries Division, a government entity created in 1997 by the Federal Communications Commission to assist school districts and libraries in developing technology. Some $2.25 billion in rebates was made available to eligible applicants.

The money is made available by taxes placed on telephone companies.

The rebate process begins with a complex, drawn-out application process. Besides submission of a five-year district technology plan approved by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Bartley also had to submit various informational forms that were posted on a federal web site for view by prospective telecommunications vendors. Approved vendors also were required to register with the government.

Five telecommunications companies registered for participation with Jackson schools. Participating vendors are innovative idea Integration, Advanced Business Systems, Southwestern Bell, Data Communication Warehouse, and Eastern Missouri Industries.

"Several of our vendors have been really outstanding in this program," Bartley said. "It's the phone companies that lose out."

E-rate awards were made to schools based on whether the district was classified as rural or urban and the percentages of students eligible for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Public libraries applying for funding had to meet similar criteria.

Jackson schools typically have low participation in the FRLP, about 21 percent last year. Because of its low participation rate, only three of 18 projects included in the district's application were funded.

Bartley said the rebates, while welcome, are only a portion of what the district spends annually on technology needs. "We easily spend 10 times that much each year," he said.

The E-rate funding will assist the school district in moving closer to completion of a state technology objective for schools. "one of the objectives is to provide an Internet-compatible computer in every classroom," he said. "We've got about 100 classrooms left as South Elementary, the high school and junior high school."