The Schools and Libraries Division announced that on June 30 it will release more than $270.4 million in funding commitments for the 2003 funding year, including the first commitments for internal connections requests to applicants at the 90 percent discount rate.
With this wave, the SLD will have committed more than $654.3 million, or about 29 percent of the $2.25 billion it is authorized to disburse for the 2003 funding year. The 2003 funding year starts on July 1; last year, the SLD was not able to begin approving internal connections requests until October, three months after the start of the funding year. The SLD has said it will be able to approve all eligible requests for internal connections from applicants eligible for a 90 percent discount rate; requests from applicants eligible for discount rates between 70 and 89 percent are still pending.
