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                                                           Before the
               Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, DC  20554

In the Matter of                   )
                                   )
Request for Review of the          )
Decision of the                    )
Universal Service Administrator by )
                                   )
Delta/Greely School District       )    File No. SLD-34217
Delta Junction, Alaska             )
                                   )
Federal-State Joint Board on       )    CC Docket No.  96-45
Universal Service                  )
                                   )
Changes to the Board of Directors of the     )    CC Docket No. 97-21
National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc.  )

                             order

Adopted:  November 14, 2000             Released:  November 15, 2000

By the Accounting Policy Division, Common Carrier Bureau:

1.     The Accounting Policy Division has under consideration a Letter of Appeal filed by
Delta/Greely School District (Delta/Greely), Delta Junction, Alaska, seeking review of a decision
issued by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administrative
Company (Administrator).  Delta/Greely seeks review of SLD's refusal to consider
Delta/Greely's appeal to SLD on the grounds that it was untimely filed.  For the reasons set forth
below, we deny Delta/Greely's appeal.
2.     SLD issued a Funding Commitment Decision Letter on February 18, 1999, approving
Delta/Greely's request for discounted services under the schools and libraries universal service
support mechanism.  Specifically, SLD approved Delta/Greely's requests for discounts for
dedicated services and Internet access, Funding Request Numbers (FRNs) 34511 and 34524.  On
July 19, 1999 and August 23, 1999, Delta/Greely filed appeals of SLD's decision, stating that,
although SLD approved Delta/Greely's request for discounts for dedicated services and Internet
access for 1998, it had not included discounts for services for the period between January 1999 to
June 1999.  On August 12, 1999 and August 7, 2000, SLD issued Administrator's Decisions on
Appeal indicating that it would not consider Delta/Greely's appeals because they were received
more than 30 days after the Funding Commitment Decision Letter was issued.  Delta/Greely
subsequently filed the instant Letter of Appeal with the Commission.
3.     Under section 54.720 of the Commission's rules, an appeal must be filed with the
Commission or SLD within 30 days of the issuance of the decision as to which review is sought. 
Documents are considered to be filed with the Commission or SLD only upon receipt.  The 30-
day deadline contained in section 54.720 of the Commission's rules applies to all requests for
review filed by a party affected by a decision issued by the Administrator.  Because Delta/Greely
failed to file an appeal of the February 28, 1999 Funding Commitment Decision Letter within the
requisite 30-day appeal period, we affirm SLD's decision to dismiss Delta/Greely's appeals to
SLD as untimely and deny the instant Letter of Appeal.
4.     ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to authority delegated under sections
0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.91, 0.291, and 54.722(a),
that the Letter of Appeal filed by Delta/Greely School District, Delta Junction, Alaska on July 18,
2000, IS DENIED.
                                                            FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                                                            
                                                            
                                                            
                                                            Mark G. Seifert
                                                            Deputy Chief, Accounting Policy Division
                         Common Carrier Bureau