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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  1202 
 Before  the 
 Federal  Communications  Commission 


 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of 
 Request  for  Review  of  the 
 Decision  of  the 
 Universal  Service  Administrator  by 


 Richland  School  District 
 Johnstown,  Pennsylvania 


 Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on 
 Universal  Service 


 Changes  to  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
 National  Exchange  Carrier  Association,  Inc. 


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 File  No.  SLD  USCN  662070000289401 
 CC  Docket  No.  96-  45 
 CC  Docket  No.  97-  21 


 ORDER 
 Adopted:  May  15,  2001  Released:  May  16,  2001 
 By  the  Common  Carrier  Bureau,  Accounting  Policy  Division: 
 1.  The  Bureau  has  under  consideration  a  Request  for  Review  filed  by  Richland 
 School  District  (Richland).  1  Richland  seeks  review  of  a  decision  issued  by  the  Schools  and 
 Libraries  Division  (SLD)  of  the  Universal  Service  Administrative  Company  (Administrator) 
 pursuant  to  a  funding  request  for  telecommunications  services  and  internal  connections.  2  For  the 
 reasons  set  forth  below,  we  grant  Richland’s  Request  for  Review  and  remand  Richland’s  funding 
 application  to  SLD  for  further  determination  in  accordance  with  this  Order. 


 2.  Under  the  schools  and  libraries  universal  service  support  mechanism,  eligible 
 schools,  libraries,  and  consortia  that  include  eligible  schools  and  libraries,  may  apply  for  discounts 
 for  eligible  telecommunications  services,  Internet  access,  and  internal  connections.  3  In  order  to 
 receive  discounts  on  eligible  services,  the  Commission’s  rules  require  that  the  applicant  submit  to 
 the  Administrator,  a  completed  FCC  Form  470,  in  which  the  applicant  sets  forth  the  school’s 
 technological  needs  and  the  services  for  which  it  seeks  discounts.  4  Once  the  school  has  complied 


 1  Letter  from  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  Attorney  for  Richland  School  District,  to  Federal  Communications 
 Commission,  filed  August  17,  2000  (Request  for  Review). 
 2  See  Letter  from  Schools  and  Libraries  Division,  Universal  Service  Administrative  Company,  to  Paul  Karas, 


 Richland  School  District,  issued  July  18,  2000  (Notification  Letter). 
 3  47  C.  F.  R.  §§  54.502,  45.503. 


 4  47  C.  F.  R.  §  54.504  (b)(  1),  (b)(  3). 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  1202 
 2 
 with  the  Commission’s  competitive  bidding  requirements  and  signed  a  contract  for  eligible 
 services,  it  must  file  an  FCC  Form  471  application  to  notify  the  Administrator  of  the  services  that 
 have  been  ordered,  the  carrier  with  whom  the  school  has  signed  the  contract,  and  an  estimate  of 
 funds  needed  to  cover  the  discounts  to  be  given  for  eligible  services.  5  This  information  is 
 generally  provided  in  Block  5  of  FCC  Form  471.  Among  other  information,  Block  5  requires  the 
 applicant  to  indicate  services  requested,  the  name  of  the  service  provider,  the  type  of  service  or 
 product  for  which  support  is  sought,  and  the  estimated  total  annual  pre-  discount  cost.  Using 
 information  provided  by  the  applicant  in  its  FCC  Form  471,  the  Administrator  determines  the 
 amount  of  discounts  for  which  the  school  is  eligible.  Approval  of  the  application  is  contingent 
 upon  the  filing  of  FCC  Form  471,  and  funding  commitment  decisions  are  based  on  information 
 provided  by  the  school  or  library  in  this  form. 


 3.  In  its  FCC  Form  471,  filed  on  March  29,  2000,  Richland  sought  support  for 
 telecommunications  services  and  internal  connections  for  Funding  Year  2.  6  On  July  18,  2000, 
 SLD  notified  Richland  that  its  FCC  Form  471  did  not  meet  minimum  processing  standards. 
 Specifically,  SLD  stated  that,  “The  USCN  referenced  in  [B]  lock  5  is  from  the  wrong  funding 
 year.”  7  In  its  Request  for  Review,  Richland  asserts  that  the  File  No.  USCN  662070000289401 
 USCN  it  referenced  in  Block  5  is  from  the  appropriate  funding  year,  i.  e.,  July  1,  1999  to  June  30, 
 2000.  Richland  requests  that  the  Commission  order  SLD  to  process  its  FCC  Form  471.  8 


 4.  Based  on  the  information  before  us,  the  USCN  provided  to  SLD  on  Richland’s 
 FCC  Form  471  matches  the  USCN  indicated  on  Richland’s  FCC  Form  470.  Accordingly,  we 
 remand  Richland’s  application  to  SLD  for  further  determination. 


 5.  ACCORDINGLY,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  authority  delegated  under 
 sections  0.91,  0.291,  and  54.722(  a)  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §§  0.91,  0.291,  and 
 54.722(  a),  that  the  Appeal  filed  August  17,  2000,  by  the  Richland  School  District,  Johnstown, 
 Pennsylvania,  IS  GRANTED  to  the  extent  provided  herein  and  we  REMAND  this  matter  to  the 
 Administrator  for  further  processing  consistent  with  this  Order. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 Mark  G.  Seifert 
 Deputy  Chief,  Accounting  Policy  Division 


 5  47  C.  F.  R.  §  54.504(  c). 
 6  FCC  Form  471,  Richland  School  District,  filed  March  29,  2000. 
 7  See  Notification  Letter  at  1.  USCN  is  the  Universal  Service  Control  Number. 
 8  See  Request  for  Review  at  2. 
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