WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) announces that three school districts will share $112,460.58 in funding discounts under the E-Rate program, which she and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) authored as part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

School districts and libraries receiving E-Rate funding commitment letters include the Lewiston School Department, $36,702.95; Spurwink School, Portland, $37,696.22; and School District 3, $38,061.41

The announcement is part of the fifth year of E-Rate funding for schools and libraries during the coming months; since the program began in 1998, Maine has received more than $20.6 million.

The Snowe-Rockefeller E-Rate provides discounts of between 20 and 90 percent to schools and libraries, depending on their resources and needs, for the cost of education technology, and funding represents the discounts schools will receive for specific telecommunications services. The discounts cover the cost of telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections needed to bring information directly into classrooms and libraries.