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New York State School E-rate Accounting

Accounting for Discounts and Rebates Received by School Districts and BOCES under the Universal Services Telecommunications Discount Program for Schools and Libraries (E-rate Discount Program)

Public school districts and BOCES may apply for and receive discounts or rebates on the price of certain eligible telecommunications services and equipment under the Federal Universal Telecommunications Discount Program for Schools and Libraries (E-rate Discount Program). These discounts and rebates may impact State and federally funded grant programs and the following State Aid formula aids and aid factors:

  1. Building Aid payable pursuant to Section 3602(6) of the Education Law.
  2. Computer Administration Aid payable pursuant to Section 3602(17)(c) of the Education Law.
  3. Instructional Computer Hardware and Technology Equipment Aid payable pursuant to Section 3602(26) of the Education Law.
  4. Instructional Computer Technology Aid payable pursuant to Section 3602(26-a) of the Education Law.
  5. BOCES Shared Services Aid payable pursuant to Section 1950(5) of the Education Law.
  6. Approved Operating Expense as defined in Section 3602(11) of the Education Law.

To assist school districts and BOCES in properly recording and reporting any discounts or rebates received and their treatment in the calculation of grants or State formula aids, the following guidelines are provided:

Recording and Reporting Discounts Received

To assist school districts and BOCES in properly recording and reporting any discounts or rebates received and their treatment in the calculation of grants or State formula aids, the following guidelines are provided:

If a school district or a BOCES pays a discounted price for an eligible service or item under the E-rate Discount Program, and the expense generates aid under an expense driven aid formula or grant program, the school district or BOCES should record the discounted expense and only claim aid under the formula or grant at the discounted purchase price.

Rebates Received

If a rebate is received, the school district or BOCES should record the rebate as "Other Unclassified Revenues" as follows:

Rebates Received for Expenditures Previously Recorded in the Capital Fund

The rebate should be recorded as revenue to H2770 to the credit of the specific project that generated the rebate. If the project is eligible for Building Aid, the final cost report to be submitted to the Facilities Planning Unit of the Education Department upon substantial completion of the project should only include the net cost of the eligible service or item (original price minus rebate). If the project receiving the rebate was aided under any other expense based formula, the rebate should be recorded as an offsetting revenue on the State Aid claim for such formula aid that is filed based on eligible expenses incurred by the school district for the school year in which the rebate is received. A separate schedule for reporting such offsetting revenues will be included in the State Aid Data Entry Assistant. A draft format for this schedule is included at the end of this notice.

Rebates Received for Expenditures Previously Recorded in the General Fund

The rebate should be recorded as revenue to A2770. If the rebate relates to BOCES expenditures for a shared service, the BOCES should calculate and pay refunds to the districts that participated in the service. If the rebate relates to expenditures aided under any other expense-based formula, the rebate should be recorded as offsetting revenue to the aidable expenses incurred during the school year in which the rebate is received. A separate schedule for reporting such offsetting revenues will be included in the 1999-00 State Aid Data Entry Assistant. A draft format for this schedule is included at the end of this notice. In all other cases, rebates received by school districts will be treated as deductible revenue in the calculation of approved operating expense.

Rebates Received for Expenditures Previously Recorded in the Special Aid Fund

The rebate should be recorded as revenue to F2770 to the credit of the specific grant program that generated the rebate and reported as a revision to the final cost report for the grant that originally generated the rebated expense.