ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The nation's schools should get discounts of up to 90 percent of the cost of bringing the Internet computer network into classrooms, a panel of federal and state officials said Thursday.
The plan would provide all elementary and secondary schools - both public and private - with access to the global computer network at a cut rate.
A centerpiece of President Clinton's second-term educational goals, the proposal would cover 50 million students and teachers at 100,000 schools.
Besides discounts for the Internet service itself, schools also would be given discounts on the costs of hooking them up to telecommunications networks necessary to tap into the Internet and on the costs of wiring inside classrooms.
Discounts vary upon the wealth of the school and also would be available to libraries. They ``will help our kids into the information age,'' said FCC Commissioner Rachelle Chong, a member of a federal-state joint board that developed the plan.
Other than for the most affluent schools, discounts would be in the range of 40 percent to 90 percent, depending upon wealth of school and whether it is located in a high-cost telecommunications area such as a rural community.
Wealth is defined by the number of students eligible for federally subsidized school lunches. Schools where less than 1 percent of students participate in the subsidized lunch program would get a 20 percent discount.
Vice President Al Gore hailed the proposal, saying the average discount under it would be 60 percent. One-third of schools, he added, would get at least an 80 percent discount and the poorest 15 percent of schools would get a 90 percent discount.
``The proposed discounts are substantial and will lead to significant savings for our nation's schools and libraries,'' said Education Secretary Richard Riley.
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