Report No. MM-815            MASS MEDIA ACTION               March 23, 1994


          ROTAN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT GRANTED CONSTRUCTION 
            PERMIT AND LICENSE FOR ITFS CHANNELS AT SNYDER, TX

     The Commission has conditionally granted the application of
Rotan Independent School District for a construction permit and
license in the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) on
channels G1-G4 in Snyder, TX; and denied the competing application
of Blackwell Consolidated Independent School District for ITFS
facilities in Roscoe, TX.

     In cases of mutually exclusive applications, where applicants
are competing for the same or adjacent channels in the same
geographic area, the Commission reviews each application pursuant
to its comparative process.  This procedure awards a maximum of 12
merit points based on five criteria deemed to be most relevant to
predicting the applicant best qualified to provide the service
which the ITFS spectrum has been allocated.

     In this case, the Commission awarded Blackwell four points for
being local, three points for being accredited, and two points for
observing the four-channel limitation, for a total of nine points. 
The Commission awarded Rotan four points for being local, three
points for being accredited, two points for observing the four-
channel limitation, and one point for proposing  at least 21 hours
of formal educational ITFS programming per channel per week, for a
total of 10 points.  Thus, the tentative selectee is Rotan.

     Rotan proposed leasing its excess capacity for non-ITFS use,
and submitted a copy of its lease with Snyder Microwave
Communications, L.C.  However, the lease does not conform with the
Commission's lease requirements.  Therefore, Rotan's authorization
was conditioned upon conformity of the lease agreement to FCC
requirements.

     Action by the Commission March 18, 1994, by Memorandum Opinion
and Order (FCC 94-72).  Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello and
Barrett.

                                   -FCC-

     News Media contact: Patricia A. Chew at (202) 632-5050.
     Mass Media Bureau contact: Lynn Remly at (202) 632-6357.