Today's Schools and Libraries News Brief (excerpted below) announces the
release of a new E-Rate Category 2 Budget Tool on the USAC website that can
help you determine your independent school or school district five-year
Category 2 budget for FY2021 - FY2025. The tool allows you to set filters
to drill down to your billed entity number, forecast your budget, and then
export the data. As with any USAC tool, I would encourage you to do your
own calculations for comparison and to make sure USAC's data is accurate.
The E-Rate C2 Budget Tool is available directly here:
https://opendata.usac.org/E-rate/E-rate-C2-Budget-Tool-FY2021-/8z69-hkn7
Links to the tool, an instructional video, and a glossary of terms are
available on the USAC Tools page here:
https://www.usac.org/e-rate/resources/tools/
The pertinent portion of the News Brief is below with lots of helpful
information, and I have attached another copy of my Category 2 Budgets
guide to this email, so you have everything you need all in one place.
_________________________________________________
Anne Perloff
Maine State E-Rate Coordinator for Schools
Networkmaine, University of Maine System US:IT
Web: erate.networkmaine.net
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 207-581-3584
Mail:
Networkmaine
5752 Neville Hall, Room 255
Orono, ME 04469-5752
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Schools and Libraries (E-rate) Program <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 2020 at 12:56 PM
Subject: USAC's Schools and Libraries News Brief for this Week
To: <[log in to unmask]>
August 14, 2020
View
<http://view.outreach.usac.org/?qs=04a833f2392d8bbc94a29fe0e697f0bbcc268437e785eec4a94d5064a603e270d92cbf12be6f05b361e6bc90320857ae81f23bd087428146ed2b7c2eefbb58a8196a1f66887c213f>
this email as a web page.
[image: USAC Banner]
Schools and Libraries News Brief
August 14, 2020
Update on Category Two Budget Tool for FY2021-FY2025
Yesterday we deployed the new Category Two (C2) budget tool
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce14657f5322e6b29376828c7f44772fa8d87b12f0f9ff7d3343b95ec189d8ecd58abe4f49ab4dde240aeec041f9de4c61f3f7e>.
This tool will cover the five-year cycle that starts in FY2021 (July 1,
2021, through June 30, 2022) and ends in FY2025. We have posted the tool to
the Tools
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce146571c990d5f60352de2818c73f291bceb382bddab1a05dd357484cc573744cf1180aa25be1c06bdcee5af7aa7a0416a77c1>
page
on the USAC website along with a video
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce146576b4eda111344f694ec6af375472d8f5714b5254e2b7d63996c125e22b4cae5624cf98f80f395b5b8ad65a9512e7d4ec0>
on how to use the tool and a glossary of terms
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce146578327bc71a99e4bf8e8fcf3353ecac4b1ed48bccf05151a5390178ce56d6ff8c31503b1426d296cbaf7e76175efd5b241>
.
There are a few new terms that are helpful to better understand the data
provided on the tool. You can refer to the glossary of terms
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce146578327bc71a99e4bf8e8fcf3353ecac4b1ed48bccf05151a5390178ce56d6ff8c31503b1426d296cbaf7e76175efd5b241>
for more information on each term that appears in bold below.
- Each entity that has a C2 budget is called a *budgeted entity*. A
budgeted entity must be an independent school, independent library,
school district, or library system.
- For the purpose of calculating a C2 budget, the *child entity count*
is the number of the individual schools in a school district or the library
branches in a library system.
- With a few exceptions, an individual school must have a student
count greater than zero in the entity profile to be included in the child
entity count.
- A library branch must have a square footage greater than zero in
the entity profile to be included in the child entity count. Note that
bookmobiles and kiosks will not be counted if their square
footage is zero.
- Non-instructional facilities (NIFs) and annexes are not considered
child entities.
*C2 budget algorithms*
There are eight different possible C2 budget calculations for budgeted
entities, depending on the entity type and size (independent school or
library, large or small school district, large or small library system). We
refer to these as* C2 budget algorithms* in the tool.
For some budgeted entities, only one C2 budget algorithm applies. For
others, two or three may apply. The C2 budget displayed is based on the
applicable algorithm that results in the highest C2 budget pursuant to FCC
rules.
*C2 budget versions*
There are three different versions of C2 budgets in the tool: forecast,
preliminary, and confirmed.
- The *forecast* version of an entity's C2 budget is based on the
current student count or square footage in the applicant organization's
profile. If you change a student count or a square footage entry related to
the C2 budget in the entity profile, the forecast version of the C2 budget
will show the result of the change the following day.
- The *preliminary* version of an entity's C2 budget is based on the
information on the first certified FCC Form 471. (An independent school
designated as new construction that provides an estimated student count
will also show a preliminary budget until the actual student count is
verified.)
- The *confirmed* version of an entity's C2 budget is based on the
information in an FCC Form 471 for which USAC has issued a funding decision
for a C2 funding request (unless all of the funding requests have been
canceled). You will not see confirmed C2 budgets until after the first
commitment wave for FY2021.
As a reminder, here are the most significant changes to the C2 budget
calculations for the C2 budget cycle starting July 1, 2021.
*C2 budgets will change to a fixed, five-year cycle. *Any unused C2 budget
funding from the six-year test period (FY2015 through FY2020) will not
carry forward.
*C2 budget multipliers and the funding floor for each five-year budget
cycle will be set once at the beginning of the cycle and apply to the
entire cycle.* They will always be rounded to two digits (dollars and
cents) and adjusted for inflation. For the FY2021-FY2025 cycle:
- The school multiplier will be $167.00 per student.
- The library multiplier will be $4.50 per square foot for all libraries
regardless of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) locale code.
- The funding floor will be $25,000.00.
*C2 budgets will be set at the beginning of the cycle, but applicants have
the option to adjust them during the cycle. *Applicants must validate their
student counts or library square footage in the first year they apply for
C2 funding in the relevant five-year budget cycle. If an applicant does not
request a recalculation, the student count for the school district or the
library square footage will not change during the cycle. We expect that
school applicants that experience increased student enrollment or library
applicants that expand their square footage during the budget cycle may
choose to exercise this option.
*C2 budgets are calculated at the school district or library system level.*
School districts and library systems are not required to maintain separate
budgets for each school or library, and they can allocate funding among
their eligible sites as they see fit.
- School districts can calculate their C2 budgets by (1) multiplying the
total number of students in the school district by the school multiplier or
by (2) multiplying the number of individual schools in the school district
by the $25,000 funding floor.
- Library systems can calculate their C2 budgets by (1) multiplying the
total square footage of the library branches in the library system by the
library multiplier or by (2) multiplying the number of library branches in
the library system by the $25,000 funding floor.
*School districts and library systems with 10 or fewer child entities can
also calculate their C2 budgets on a per-site basis and combine the
results. *This option is not available for school districts and library
systems with more than 10 child entities.
- For example, an individual school with fewer than 150 students would
be eligible for the $25,000 funding floor. If a school district consists of
three schools – one with 50 students, one with 100 students, and one with
200 students, this school district can calculate its C2 budget as $25,000 +
$25,000 + $33,400 = $83,400, because the first and second schools would be
eligible for the funding floor.
- Similarly, a library branch with less than 5,556 square feet would be
eligible for the $25,000 funding floor. If a library system consists of a
bookmobile, a library branch with 4,000 square feet, and a library branch
with 7,500 square feet, this library system can calculate its C2 budget as
$25,000 + $25,000 + $33,750 = $83,750, because the bookmobile and the
smaller library branch would be eligible for the funding floor.
An independent school or independent library calculates its C2 budget using
its student count or square footage, respectively.
For detailed information on C2 budgets for the budget cycle starting in
FY2021, you can refer to the December 20, 2019 SL News Brief
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce1465734148c230a4cae18042a5eaff0ab75d83f6b9e82abc1d737a2cae3e0ada08aaabd9f51884566ca1af7779d0252c2d1fe>
.
Remember that, for the six-year test period (FY2015 through FY2020), most
of the program rules remain the same in FY2020. For detailed information on
FY2020 C2 budgets, you can refer to the December 13, 2019 SL News Brief
<http://click.outreach.usac.org/?qs=b6933ea99ce14657909f909f364360795e4dc79f4e0c10740333df97fcada82c618ffbb0adcc6292eccfdb460824b8bce2c8bf9bacb8884f>
.
Need Help? Contact Us!
For questions about the E-rate Program, contact the Client Service Bureau
at (888) 203-8100.