June 29, 2015
TO
Superintendents
Charter School Directors
Finance Officers
Technology Directors
FROM
Tracy S. Weeks
Philip W. Price, Chief Financial Officer
Financial and Business Services
HOME BASE OPT-IN AND PAYMENT FOR FY 2015-16
We would like to address several of the questions that we have received regarding the opt-in and payment
process for Home Base.
What is Home Base?
Home Base is a suite of productivity tools designed to help teachers differentiate instruction for their students
and for administrators to run their school. The mandatory components of Home Base will continue to be
available for free. But, you must opt-in and pay $1/ADM (for FY 2015-16) to access the optional components.
For more information on the components, please reference this document, particularly page 5. For
demonstrations of the various functions, there are several resource videos posted here.
How much does Home Base cost?
In the past, we have asked you to opt-in in case we needed to charge you $4/ADM, which is the unfunded
portion of cost of the system and its content ($6 million). However, we were able to cover the cost of Home
Base in 2013-14 and 2014-15 using a combination of vendor credits and Race to the Top funding. We still
have sufficient funds to discount the cost in 2015-16 down to $1/ADM.
What is the process for opting-into Home Base?
Once you and your leadership team decide that you would like to use Home Base, you need only to submit
your information on this form, indicating the fund source and amount. For the amount, you should use your
allotted ADM for 2015-16 available on this spreadsheet. If the figure that you submitted is different from your
allotted ADM, we will contact you to make a revision.
How do I pay for Home Base?
Non-State Funds
If you are paying for Home Base out of non-State funds, you may begin submitting payment for Home Base
immediately. Please remit a check payable to NC Department of Public Instruction and put Home Base in
the memo line.
ACADEMIC AND DIGITAL LEARNING
Tracy S. Weeks, Ph.D., Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer | tracy.weeks@dpi.nc.gov
6307 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-6307 | (919) 807-3759 | Fax (919) 807-4065
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER
Mail to:
NC Department of Public Instruction
Cash Collections
6336 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-6336
We must receive and process your payment before you will have access to the full suite of Home Base
products. Though we are able to receive non-State funds before the beginning of the 2015-16 fiscal year, you
must still abide by any restrictions placed on that funding with regard to prepayment of services.
State Funds
If you are paying for Home Base out of State funding, you must wait until the 2015-16 fiscal year begins to
submit payment. For those of you we have been able to validate the $1/ADM amount on your opt-in form and
the PRC that you intend to use, we will schedule an allotment revision in the fall to pull the money
automatically. Otherwise, we will contact you to get any missing information before we revise your allotment.
What is Canvas?
Canvas is a learning management system platform made by Instructure. For more information on Canvas,
please see this site.
How much does Canvas cost?
If you opt-into Home Base at $1/ADM, the State will cover the cost of your Canvas licenses for your teachers
and students for 2015-16. If you would like to purchase Canvas licenses for anyone beyond your teachers and
students, you will need to pay $3.74 per license, which is the State-negotiated discount rate for Canvas. If you
do not opt-into Home Base, you will need to pay $3.74 for any Canvas licenses that you intend to use.
How can I tell if I have submitted the opt-in information?
We will be posting the list of LEAs and charters who have submitted their information on our Home Base
website during the week of June 29. Please check that list to see if we have received your information.
Where do I go from here?
Below are the steps you should take before July 31:
1.
Decide with your leadership team if you intend to use Home Base.
2.
Fill out the opt-in form indicating your intent. Even if you do not intend to use Home Base, please fill
out the form and indicate "no."
3.
If you do opt-in, please submit payment by August 15, 2015, using the instructions above.
4.
Once you have opted-in, Instructure will be in contact with you to determine how many Canvas licenses
you would like. You are not required to use Canvas even if you opt-in.
a. Instructure will invoice DPI for the Canvas licenses that you select for your teachers and students.
b. Instructure will invoice you for any Canvas licenses outside of those for your teachers and students
or for any additional services that you select from Instructure.
5.
If you do not opt-in, you may still establish a contract with Instructure for Canvas, but you will need to
pay the full $3.74 for each account.
6.
Enjoy using Home Base!
If you have any questions, please contact Eric Moore at eric.moore@dpi.nc.gov.
TSW/PWP/em
c:
Home Base Coordinators