SUPERINTENDENTS' MEMOS 2008

SEPTEMBER 3, 2008

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School Connectivity MOU

To: LEA Superintendents, CFOs and CTO/Technology Directors
From: Peter Asmar, Associate Superintendent/CIO Technology Services
Subject: School Connectivity Initiative Memorandum of Understanding

We are excited to announce that as part of this year's state budget, the General Assembly has increased recurring funding in the amount of ten million dollars to the School Connectivity Initiative. We are in the implementation phase of the School Connectivity Initiative (SCI) and are moving forward on the allocation of funds to support local education agency (LEA) connectivity costs and on the installation of the shared education network backbone for public schools. In order to comply with the special provisions of the SCI appropriation, we need your assistance to apply for E-rate support in order to create this shared technology infrastructure. To that end we are asking that you read and act on a number of documents that are very similar to the documents that each LEA signed last year's specifically:

1. Read and complete the attached Checklist.
2. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that documents the roles and responsibilities of DPI and the LEA relative to the funding and implementation of the School Connectivity Initiative (SCI). Specifically, the MOU asks that the LEA commit to the non-supplant language in the special provisions of the SCI appropriation and to endorse the connection of the LEA to the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). DPI commits to allocating funding to the LEA and to fund and deploy the NCREN (North Carolina Research and Education Network) connectivity.
3. A letter of agency (LOA) that allows DPI and more directly State Information Technology Services (ITS) to act as consortium lead and billed entity" for an E-rate filing to support E-rate discounts on telecommunications circuits connecting each LEA to the statewide education network backbone. Note that we are partnering with ITS for in order to leverage existing state telecommunications contracts and to expedite deployment of the shared backbone.
4. A Technology Plan Addendum that is required as part of the E-rate filing process. This will be inserted into the new LEA technology plan that is due in November.
5. Your FY2007-2008 wide area network (WAN) and Internet Service Provider (ISP) contract costs. The summary page of your contracts will act as sufficient documentation of actual LEA WAN and ISP costs (after E-rate discount) that are the basis for the LEA connectivity funding allocation. In order to ensure accuracy and finalize the allocation process we ask that you provide these contract costs.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact:
Ed Chase
NCDPI Connectivity Team Lead
919.812.5666
echase@dpi.state.nc.us

MOU 2008-2009
(pdf, 125kb)

DPI LOA 2009
(pdf, 104kb)

Checklist 2009
(pdf, 95kb)

Technology Plan Insert SCI
(pdf, 125kb)