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Bloomfield School District approves communications services [The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M. :: ](Daily Times (Farmington, NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 11--BLOOMFIELD -- The Bloomfield School District's Board of Education approved new contracts for communications services, and a federal program is expected to refund the majority of the cost. Board members voted Tuesday evening to approve contracts for telephone, long-distance services and Internet for about $97,106. Of that, $78,656 will be refunded as part of the E-rate Program. The federal program offers discounts on telecommunications and Internet access for eligible schools and libraries. It is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company under the Federal Communications Commission. The two contracts are with CenturyLink for telephone lines and long-distance services totaling $52,718 and with Brainstorm Internet for Internet service for $44,388. "Based on a review of the qualifications, pricing, bid responsiveness and the understanding of the District needs, Brainstorm was selected as the District Internet Service Provider and CenturyLink was selected to provide telephony service," said Gary Giron, the district's director of finance and operation, in an email. The district will receive its refund from the companies after the contracts have been paid, Giron said. The district will pay about $18,450 on the contracts after refunds are received. The district used the services of a company from Henderson, Nev., to find companies that honor the E-rate Program. Joshua Kellogg covers education for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 and [email protected]. Follow him @jkelloggdt on Twitter. ___ (c)2014 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |