By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Everybody likes a discount. School districts around the nation benefit from the E-Rate program, officially known as the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support Program, which provides discounts on telecommunications, internet access, and internet connections utilized by schools and libraries. During Monday's USD 428 Board of Education meeting, Ryan Axman, IT director for the Great Bend district, explained how the program works.
"E-Rate is a federal program that's funded through a tax on phone lines throughout the country, so that's where the funding comes from," he told the board. "If you like being told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, you'll like E-Rate. It's like doing your taxes: it's very detail-oriented. You have to do exactly what they tell you to do."
For those efforts, the district receives funding for 80 percent of the costs associated with its wide-area network, 5G internet access, network switches, and access points. Axman explained the rate is based on the district's free and reduced-lunch program, with discounts offered between 50 and 90 percent. USD 428 receives an 80-percent discount. The board approved 2026-27 funding for $99,359, with savings of $397,437. The district's configuration allows all buildings to benefit from the program.
"Our internet access comes to the district office and is funneled out to all the buildings," Axman said. "That's what enables the district office to be part of the E-Rate funding, also."
There are plenty of strings attached. To be eligible for E-Rate, districts must monitor and filter every device to ensure students have clean, reliable access to the internet. Districts also have to track all associated equipment for five years and keep those records for 10 years in the event of an audit.