What’s at stake
A proven program faces its biggest threat.
E-Rate is the fifth largest stream of federal funding in the nation’s schools. It is the only federal education technology program, and over nearly 30 years it has consistently, effectively and responsibly supported connectivity for schools and libraries in every one of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. In June 2026 the FCC opened a rulemaking that asks whether it should continue.
What you need to know
E-Rate helps schools and libraries access the affordable broadband that supports the connectivity and network modern buildings need to carry on the important work of serving students and patrons.
$17.6M committed · 17 public school districts and the shared regional networkSee it on the interactive map →E-Rate is a proven program that has single-handedly transformed internet access in classrooms. The program has a long track record of success and enjoys strong bi-partisan support on Capitol Hill. The FCC’s review is expansive and asks more than 100 questions about the program, its future, and its structure.
Read a summary of the FCC’s NPRM (PDF) →How you can engage
Here’s everything you need to know about WHY your voice matters, HOW to craft your response, and WHERE to file it with the FCC.
Comments are due October 13, 2026Read our Call to Action (PDF) →We are fielding a lot of questions as members work through the proposal and begin writing their comments. We have some answers!
Read our FAQ for more information (PDF) →The summary, Call to Action and FAQ are published by AASA, The School Superintendents Association and the Association of Educational Service Agencies, co-branded with the Pennsylvania Digital Trust Hub and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. Read the AASA blog →
Where the money goes
Two categories. One connected classroom.
E-Rate funds arrive in two forms. Category 1 pays for the broadband circuits that reach the building — including the region's shared wide-area network. Category 2 pays for the Wi-Fi and switching that carry it to every desk. Northwest Tri-County's schools depend on both.1
Annual E-Rate commitments across Northwest Tri-County
FY2026 is still open — its lighter bar shows partial-year commitments to date. All 17 public districts across Erie, Crawford & Warren counties plus the Northwest Tri-County RWAN consortium, funding years 2016–2026. Committed federal share, de-duplicated to the funding-request level. Source: USAC Open Data.
Support that follows need
The less a district can afford, the more E-Rate provides.
E-Rate scales its support to a district's share of economically disadvantaged students, so the region's least-resourced districts draw the deepest support: 5 districts qualify at the maximum 90% rate — Erie City, Warren County, and Crawford Central among them — and 14 of 17 at 80% or above.2 These are exactly the rural and small-city communities E-Rate was built to reach. Yet the same rulemaking that floats a “rural-only” rule — which would still strand Erie City, the region's single largest recipient — also proposes to sunset the program outright, ending this support for every district at once.3
See every Northwest Tri-County district by discount rate
Coordinated by IU5
A shared regional network: the Northwest Tri-County RWAN Consortium.
IU5 coordinates the Northwest Tri-County RWAN Consortium — a shared regional wide-area network that delivers high-quality, high-capacity connectivity across Erie, Crawford, and Warren counties. Buying as one region secures enterprise-grade fiber that no single rural district could procure affordably alone, and E-Rate covers the discounted majority of the cost. Its 17 member entities reach beyond public districts to career & technical centers and charter, non-public, and parochial schools — drawing internet connectivity, WAN links, and DDoS protection as one purchasing region. $3.66M in connectivity funding flows through the consortium's own Billed Entity Number (17002478).4
This is exactly the regional coordination the NPRM would undercut — the mechanism that lets 17 districts, large and small, share one resilient backbone across a rural three-county footprint that private carriers have little reason to serve.
The receipts
What E-Rate delivered, district by district.
Lifetime E-Rate commitments, funding years 2016–2026, for all 17 public districts in the Northwest Tri-County region.1 The 90% badge marks maximum-discount, highest-need districts.
Select any district name to see it highlighted on the interactive map.
| District | Category 1 | Category 2 | Total funded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie City 90% | $1.2M | $2.8M | $4.0M |
| Warren County 90% | $539K | $1.3M | $1.9M |
| Crawford Central 90% | $490K | $870K | $1.4M |
| Millcreek Township | $18K | $1.1M | $1.1M |
| General McLane | $179K | $685K | $864K |
| Penncrest | $14K | $616K | $630K |
| Fairview | $4K | $600K | $604K |
| North East | $80K | $399K | $479K |
| Union City Area 90% | $151K | $316K | $468K |
| Corry Area | $6K | $456K | $462K |
| Girard | $22K | $399K | $421K |
| Conneaut | $11K | $380K | $391K |
| Wattsburg Area | $221K | $140K | $361K |
| Northwestern | $13K | $330K | $342K |
| Iroquois 90% | $31K | $305K | $336K |
| Harbor Creek | $96K | $149K | $245K |
| Fort LeBoeuf | $26K | $21K | $47K |
All 17 IU5 districts shown. Figures are USAC-committed federal amounts, de-duplicated to the funding-request level (one commitment per request, not per school served). Consortium (RWAN) commitments are reported separately above.
See it on the map
See Northwest Tri-County on the map.
Every district’s E-Rate funding, drawn straight from USAC’s public data. Hover or tap any district for its Category 1 and 2 totals, discount rate, and USAC urban/rural label.
See the shared network on the statewide mapNorthwest Tri-County IU 5 RWAN — 12 districts →
Your voice is needed — now
Take action to protect E-Rate.
The FCC’s comment period on Docket 26-133 closes October 13, 2026 — a narrow window to show the Commission and Congress what these changes would cost our schools. Here are three ways to help, in the order that matters most.
Sign on with the Digital Trust Hub
Add your district or organization to our coalition standing up for E-Rate. One signature adds your name to the comment we file with the FCC on Docket 26-133 and to our coalition’s letters to lawmakers.
Sign your district on →Write your own comment to the FCC
Your own comment is counted separately from ours, and the Commission weighs individual, evidence-based comments far more heavily than identical form letters. Our partners at AASA (The School Superintendents Association) have a guided tool that turns your words and your organization’s real E-Rate figures into a comment ready to file.
Figures in the builder cover FY2021–25; this page covers FY2016–26. Both are USAC data — they count different years.
Build your FCC comment →Tell Congress to protect E-Rate
Reach out directly to your lawmakers. Our partners at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) have a one-click tool that finds your U.S. Senators and Representative and sends them your message.
Contact Congress now →Your Pennsylvania delegation
The tool routes to your exact offices automatically. For the Northwest Tri-County region that means your two U.S. Senators — Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick — and your U.S. Representatives — Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA‑15) and Rep. Mike Kelly (PA‑16) — depending on where you live.
Short on words? Use this template for Step 3 ↓
Make it local: find your district on the region map and drop your own numbers into the letter — a message grounded in your district’s figures lands hardest.
Sources
The data behind this page.
Every figure on this page comes from USAC's public federal E-Rate Open Data, funding years 2016–2026. Each source is linked below. How we pulled and de-duplicated this data →
- E-Rate funding committed to the region. The federal share of Funded requests for the 17 Northwest Tri-County districts and the IU5-coordinated RWAN consortium — $17.6M, FY2016–2026.
- Discount rates & student need. Category 1/2 discount rates and the school-level free/reduced-lunch (NSLP) percentages that set them, plus full-time enrollment (~47,700 students).
- Urban / rural classification. USAC's urban/rural status for each funded service — 13 of 17 districts Rural, but 42% of district funding (incl. Erie City) serves non-rural schools.
- Northwest Tri-County RWAN Consortium. Connectivity committed under the consortium's Billed Entity Number (17002478) — the IU5-coordinated shared regional wide-area network ($3.66M, 222 funding requests).
- Target universe & Billed Entity Numbers. The 17 IU5 (Intermediate Unit 5) member districts across Erie, Crawford, and Warren counties, and the Northwest Tri-County RWAN consortium — each entity's Billed Entity Number confirmed against USAC's public entity records.USAC entity lookup 7i5i-83qf ↗
- Proposed FCC rule changes. Summarized from the member advocacy update by the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) — with the School Superintendents Association (AASA), the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), and the National Rural Education Association (NREA) — on the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) reviewing the E-Rate program.
- Consortium membership. The RWAN consortium's member districts, from USAC's Form 470 consortium-entity records.
