This is regarding “FCC botched Internet in schools; GAO finds waste, fraud in program” (Page 1, March 16), which once again highlighted the disturbing fact that underprivileged students in the Chicago Public Schools have been made victims of the digital divide as a result of gross negligence by those who were trusted to manage the federal E-rate program.
The E-Rate program is not the source of the problem; in fact it is an excellent initiative of the Clinton administration to bring Internet access to underprivileged schools and libraries across the nation. Unfortunately the problem lies with the stewards who were contracted to implement and manage this program. Simply put, they dropped the ball. Their mismanagement resulted in the Chicago Public Schools forfeiting more than $50 million that had been earmarked to wire local classrooms with Internet access. It is infuriating to know this money could have wired every classroom in Chicago and would have gone a long way to bridge the digital divide.
The Ministerial Alliance Against the Digital Divide is calling on Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate the previously forfeited $50 million to the Chicago Public Schools so that we can work to bring Internet access to every classroom in every neighborhood. We are also asking the City of Chicago to establish an oversight committee to ensure this program is administered properly in the future. This committee would consist of community leaders, school board members and administrators managing the contract bidding process to ensure contracts are awarded in the public interest and meeting regularly to monitor the implementation stage of the project.
Proper oversight and administration of the federal E-Rate program are absolutely essential in order to prevent a repeat of this disgraceful situation.
