School board approves 2025–26 E‑Rate contracts covering internet, WAN and maintenance
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Summary
The Oklahoma City Public Schools board approved E‑Rate contract applications for the 2025–26 school year that keep bandwidth unchanged and reduce the category‑2 equipment request; the district will apply for federal discounts that cover most of the cost.
Oklahoma City Public Schools’ board approved the district’s 2025–26 E‑Rate contract applications, voting 7–0 to authorize the district to file for federal discounts on internet access, wide area network services and network equipment maintenance.
The vote was taken after a presentation by Executive Director of Information Technology Services Eric Heilman, who explained E‑Rate and the district’s request. “E rate is education rate,” Heilman told the board, and described it as a Federal Communications Commission program funded by a universal service fee that provides discounts ranging from about 20% to 90% for schools and libraries.
Heilman said Oklahoma City qualifies for the highest discounts available for the district’s needs because the district participates in the Community Eligibility Provision: the district will request the same Category 1 (internet and WAN) dollars as last year and a reduced Category 2 (internal connections and equipment) amount. He summarized last year’s approved requests and this year’s proposal: last year the district requested $2,771,000 across categories with $363,000 out of pocket; the 2025–26 application requests about $2,200,000 with approximately $279,000 out of pocket, with Category 1 unchanged at $894,000 and Category 2 reduced to about $1,100,000.
The presentation emphasized program rules and district practice: E‑Rate is an annual application process that requires a funding commitment decision letter from the FCC before the district spends Category 2 funds, and Category 2 purchases are typically funded from bond dollars while Category 1 costs are charged to the general fund. Heilman also noted one important limit: “It does not cover devices,” meaning student laptops/tablets are funded through other district programs.
Board members asked about program stability at the federal level, procurement and the district’s historic savings through E‑Rate. Heilman said organizations including the Consortium for School Networking and the State Educational Technology Directors Association are monitoring potential federal changes and that letters to congressional delegations are circulating; Superintendent Polk agreed to share one of those letters with board members. On procurement, Heilman said E‑Rate requires an open competitive bidding process; Oklahoma City has gone out to bid on multi‑year cycles and the FCC audits procurement procedures.
Vice Chair Laurie Bowman moved to approve the school year 2025–26 E‑Rate contracts listed on the agenda; a second was given and the roll call vote recorded seven ayes and zero nays. “Having received 7 aye votes and 0 nay votes, the motion carries,” the clerk announced.
Why it matters: the federal discount program reduces the district’s cash outlay for critical connectivity and network infrastructure, directly affecting bandwidth, reliability, and schools’ ability to run digital learning tools.
Looking ahead: staff will file the E‑Rate application and, if approved by the FCC, the district will proceed with Category 2 purchases according to the funding commitment decision letter and its procurement schedule.
