On April 3, 2008, Funds For Learning issued the following statement to USAC regarding its contract with SAIC. The message was sent to the SLD’s ombudsman Robert Spiller.
On February 21, 2008, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced in a press statement that it was awarded a contract with USAC to “…manage the information systems used to administer the federal Universal Service Schools and Libraries and Rural Health Care Programs.”
Funds For Learning notes that SAIC is a service provider within the Schools and Libraries (E-rate) program. SAIC has been assigned Service Provider Identification Number 143021580 and has made the necessary annual certifications to participate in the E-rate program every year since Funding Year 2002.
Funds For Learning is encouraged that USAC is continually undertaking steps to better meet the needs of the SLD and all E-rate stakeholders by improving the systems used to administer the program. We are confident that measures are in place to address any actual or perceived conflict of interest that may exist from an E-rate service provider working in this capacity with the E-rate program administrator.
Many of the top-tier technology and communications companies in the country today are also E-rate service providers with registered SPINs. If USAC were to exclude these companies from helping USAC improve the E-rate program, it could have a markedly negative impact on the program.
Given the type of work that SAIC has been hired to do for other organizations (which includes the handling of classified and highly confidential information), Funds For Learning believes that the handling of E-rate information will be done in such a way that the sales staff of SAIC will not have access to information that will give them an undue advantage over any other service provider working in the E-rate marketplace.
SAIC’s E-rate History
Since Funding Year 2004 (July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005) SAIC’s sole customer to which is provides services under the E-rate program is the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Currently SAIC has approximately $6.3 million in requests with LAUSD for FY 2008, which starts on July 1, 2008.
The following table shows, by funding year, the amount of E-rate funding associated with SIAC that has been requested, committed, and disbursed since the inception of the E-rate program.
| Year | # Requests | Requested | Committed | Utilized |
| 2008 |
4 |
$ 6,267,778.80 |
$ 0.00 |
$ 0.00 |
| 2007 |
4 |
30,475,699.21 |
30,475,699.21 |
0.00 |
| 2006 |
2 |
5,115,531.61 |
4,057,131.13 |
4,057,131.13 |
| 2005 |
2 |
4,331,800.10 |
4,331,800.10 |
4,331,800 |
| 2004 |
2 |
4,134,784.00 |
2,515,050.00 |
2,515,050 |
| 2003 |
7 |
8,984,803.07 |
8,273,722.04 |
7,710,829.41 |
| 2002 |
2 |
6,754,247.26 |
6,484,574.84 |
5,479,973.23 |
| Total |
23 |
66,064,644.05 |
56,137,977.32 |
24,094,783.77 |
As of April 21, 2009. Source: E-rate Manager EDGE
