Companies, Education Groups Divided on E-Rate Transparency

Public and private sector leaders agree on many of the broad goals being floated for reshaping the federal E-rate program, but there is little consensus on one, potentially critical issue: Whether telecommunications companies should be required to make more information public about the prices they charge schools for technology.

That question has created a division between education organizations, many of which favor bringing more transparency to pricing, versus industry groups who counter that putting prices in circulation would compel them to reveal proprietary information and would lead to skewed cost comparisons in districts with very different characteristics. The Federal Communications Commission has shown an interest in boosting the transparency of spending in the program, which provides about $2.4 billion a year in aid to schools and libraries for telecommunications services. Many school advocacy organizations favor this option, arguing that making more information about technology prices public will make it easier for schools to get services at a cheaper rate -- saving money not only for K-12 systems, but also ultimately for taxpayers.