On April 29, 2019, USAC Schools & Libraries Committee held its quarterly board meeting. The FY2019 Demand was lowered from $2.89 billion to $2.59 billion. The SLD, for the first time, adjusted the demand estimate based on denials and cancellations and used a five-year estimate to come up with their updated demand estimate.
Other items that were discussed:
Other items that were discussed:
- Approved a 3rd Quarter 2019 Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism direct program budget of $13.67 million;
- Approved Schools and Libraries Support Demand Projections for the May 2, 2019 FCC Filing;
- Approved Six USAC Internal Audit Division Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism Beneficiary Audit Reports;
- The estimated amount available for rollover is $1 billion;
- Catriona Ayer highlighted information from the first FY 2019 Funding Wave which was released on Saturday, April 27. While $500 million was committed for Category One services, only $30 million was committed for Category Two projects. There was discussion that Category Two projects generally are completed during the summer months and the Board asked the SLD to prioritize more of these funding requests;
- There was further discussion regarding the slowness of EPC the last week of the filing window. The SLD stated the issue was with Appian, but believe they have found the cause which would be mitigated in FY2020;
- This meeting was Catriona’s first Quarterly Board meeting since the “Acting” has been removed from her title and she is now officially the Vice President of the Schools and Libraries Division
Please note Funds For Learning conducted a webinar on May 1, 2019, 2pm ET, on an in-depth look at the composition of the FY2019 first funding wave. A recording is available here.
Note: The information above is not the official minutes from the meeting, but simply notes from Funds For Learning. The official minutes for this meeting, as well as minutes from previous meetings, can be found here.
