09162025- District Planning Consultation RFP.PDF

500 Main Street Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701-3770

(715) 852-3000

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Eau Claire Area School District

RFP # 09162025

District Planning Consultation

KEY PROPOSAL DATES:

September 17, 2025 RFP is Issued/Released

September 29, 2025 Latest date for questions to be received from suppliers concerning this RFP.

Questions must be in writing only; no verbal inquiries will be allowed.

October 3, 2025 ECASD will have responses to all questions returned to vendors.

October 10, 2025 Proposals are DUE at the Eau Claire Area School District Purchasing Department. Late proposals will not be accepted. Proposals may be mailed, hand delivered or e-mailed.

Submit Proposals to: Eau Claire Area School District #09162025 500 Main Street Eau Claire, WI 54701

Questions & proposals can be e-mailed to:

nsolberg@ecasd.us

ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THIS RFP MUST BE IN WRITING ONLY (IE: MAILED, HAND DELIVERED OR E-MAILED). THE EAU CLAIRE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANY VERBAL INQUIRIES. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY OCTOBER 10, 2025. E-MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO nsolberg@ecasd.us mailto:nsolberg@ecasd.us

Eau Claire Area School District

District Planning Consultation

Notice is hereby given that proposals will be due in the Purchasing Office of the Eau Claire Area School District (“District”) no later than 4PM October 10, 2025.

The District, with an enrollment of approximately 10,800 students, is the eighth largest school district in Wisconsin. It covers approximately 200 square miles, which includes most of the city of Eau Claire and portions of the townships of Brunswick, Clear Creek, Drammen, Hallie, Pleasant Valley, Rock Creek, Seymour, Union, Washington, and Wheaton. There are 12 elementary schools in the District, 3 middle schools, 2 high schools, 3 charter schools and 1 early learning center.

Vendors are instructed to propose their most advantageous solution in accordance with the requirements and scope of project specified.

Instructions to Suppliers

1. Proposal Submission Due Date: Proposals will be due in the Purchasing Office of the Eau Claire Area School District by 4PM October 10, 2025. There is no formal proposal opening session scheduled. Any proposals received after the specified due date and time will be rejected.

2. Proposal Submission Instructions: It is the supplier's responsibility to ensure that a submitted bid, proposal, or price quotation is at the Eau Claire Area School District Purchasing Department prior to the time and date specified. Late bids, proposals, or price quotations will be rejected unopened, regardless of the degree of lateness or the reasons for lateness, including reasons beyond the control of the supplier.

3. Alternate Proposals: Specifications contained in this RFP are intended to define the level of quality and performance and not to restrict competition. Suppliers offering alternates shall submit, with their proposal, an itemized comparison to the RFP specifications, documenting equivalence, quality, performance, etc.

Suppliers may offer more than one alternative with required supporting documentation.

4. Deviations From Proposal Specifications: Any deviations from proposal scope must be clearly documented. The District reserves the right to determine if any noted deviations or qualifying statements indicated in a proposal are in their best interest and reserves the option to reject any proposal(s), all proposals, or a portion of a proposal(s), on that basis.

5. Withdrawal of Proposals: Proposals may be withdrawn by the submitting parties any time prior to the due date for the proposal to be received. Negligence on the part of the supplier in preparing the proposal confers no right of withdrawal or modification of the proposal after the due date for submission.

6. Right to Rejection of Proposals: The District reserves the right to reject any portion of a proposal, or the complete proposal, or all proposals, and to waive any informality in proposals received when such rejection or waiver is considered to be in the best interest of the District.

7. Firm Proposals: All proposals are to be firm for acceptance for a minimum of ninety (90) days from opening and for the specified contract period. Any exceptions shall be fully noted. The purchase of the item(s) in this RFP is contingent on budget availability. The District may elect to not proceed with this project, or delay the project, or modify the conditions for this project, if considered to be in the best interest of the District.

8. Level of Competing Proposals Received: The District reserves the right to reject all proposals received and resubmit the RFP if it feels an adequate level of competition was not obtained, or if specifications/terms did not allow for a sufficient level of completing proposals to be received, or if desired specifications, features, or standards were not, in the opinion of the District, acceptable.

9. Proposal Submission Instructions: Proposals can be paper mailed/delivered or e-mailed as follows:

● If mailed or delivered: A minimum of 7 (7) hard copies must be provided in a sealed envelope and be clearly marked as: Eau Claire Area School District, Attn: Purchasing Department RFP# 09162025, 500 Main Street, Eau Claire WI 54701.

● If the proposal is to be e-mailed, it must not be larger than 25 pages, otherwise a hard copy sealed proposal must be mailed or be delivered as indicated above in lieu of being emailed. If the proposal is under 25 pages, it may be e-mailed to nsolberg@ecasd.us and the subject line in the email must contain

RFP#09162025.

10. Qualified Supplier Certification Statement: Only proposals from Qualified Suppliers shall be considered.

This RFP includes a “Qualified Supplier Certification Statement” that must be fully completed and be initialed and be submitted by the supplier with the other required documents as specified by this RFP.

11. Questions – Must be in Writing Only: Questions concerning this RFP must be in writing only and should be e-mailed (no telephone calls) to the Eau Claire Area School District Purchasing Department to:

nsolberg@ecasd.us

12. Liability: The District incurs no liability for any cost the supplier may have incurred in preparing and submitting a proposal in response to this RFP.

13. Contents of Proposal: All attachments, additional pages, addenda, or explanations supplied by the supplier with this proposal will be considered as part of the proposal response.

14. Meetings with, or presentations by suppliers: Upon receipt of all proposals meeting the conditions outlined in this RFP and arriving by the specified due date and time, the District reserves the option to meet with a select group (not all) of suppliers that are considered to be in their best interest, to do presentations or clarify details of their proposals to District staff. If an oral presentation/interview is required of selected finalists, it shall be at the respondent’s expense. However, an award may be made without discussion with the respondents. Therefore, respondents are cautioned that proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms, from both a technical and cost standpoint. Unnecessarily elaborate brochures or other presentations beyond that required to present a complete and effective proposal are not desired.

15. Payment Terms. PCard payment is always preferable. The standard District payment terms are Net 30 days from receipt of invoice, subject to items purchased, received, and installed that conform to purchase order specifications and accepted industry standards for quality and performance.

16. Right to Addendums. The District reserves the right to amend the terms and specifications of this RFP. In the event of any changes to the terms and/or specifications of this RFP, a formal addendum to the RFP will be issued.

17. Amendments to Contract Terms and Conditions. The District reserves the right to change, modify, or cancel the terms of a contract “at will”. Any and all changes to the terms or conditions of contract will be binding on the District only through formal written addendum issued by the District Purchasing Department to the contract or agreement. In the event of order cancellation, the District will provide the supplier with an advance thirty (30) days written notice.

18. Equal Employment Opportunity Provisions. For purposes of any contract issued by the District to a supplier, the supplier is to comply with Executive Order 11246 entitled “Equal Employment Opportunity” as amended by Executive Order 11375, and as supplemented in Department of Labor regulations (41 CFR Part 60).

19. Right to Negotiate Contract Terms: The District reserves the right to negotiate the terms of the contract, including the award amount, with the selected supplier prior to entering into a contract.

20. Public Inspection of Proposals: To maintain the integrity of the competitive proposal process, proposals received from suppliers will NOT be made available to other competing suppliers or to individuals or firms outside of the proposal evaluation committee until an award decision (prior to actual award) has been made.

21. Certificate of Insurance: A current Certificate of Insurance evidencing appropriate amounts of liability insurance coverage with a bonded agent or carrier is required to be submitted by the supplier/contractor or be on file at the district purchasing office prior to any employee, agent, or subcontracted person(s) of the contractor/supplier performing any work.

22. Other Considerations: Factors which include, but are not limited to, quantity, time of completion, purpose for which required, competency and financial capacity of supplier, ability to render satisfactory service and past performance, will be considered in determining status as a responsible supplier. The District reserves the right to request additional information as may reasonably be required to make this determination and to further investigate the qualifications of the respondent as deemed appropriate.

23. Request for Financial Statements: The District may request financial statements containing three (3) years of P&L, Balance Sheet, and other financial information for purposes of evaluating the financial ability of firms to provide the scope of service and support required by this RFP. Copies of a supplier’s Certified Auditor Statement may be requested. In the event such financial information is required for the evaluation of proposals, such will be requested in writing to the supplier by the District.

24. State Sales Tax and Federal Excise Tax Exemption: Notice is hereby given that the District is a Wisconsin municipality and is exempt from state sales taxes and federal excise taxes. Such taxes should not be included in prices or quotes proposed to the District.

25. References: The District may assign evaluation points based on comments and reviews of the supplier’s products and/or services as provided by references.

26. Assignment or Subcontract: Neither party shall assign any right or interest, nor delegate or subcontract any obligation owed under a contract or agreement, without the written consent of the other party.

27. Payment for Contract Performance: Upon complete performance of the contract by the supplier when accepted as such by the District, the District will pay the supplier for any balance payment due and payable under the terms of the contract for said work within a reasonable and customary time after receipt of a properly prepared and submitted invoice to the District.

28. Commitment of Resources: Upon award of contract, supplier will provide a list of resources to be committed throughout the duration of the contract. Any change to the personnel must have prior approval from the District Project Manager. Any loss of productivity resulting from the change in staffing will be done at the supplier’s expense.

29. Project Scope Change: All scope changes must be approved by the District Project Manager following a formal change control process. Any changes made by supplier without prior written approval will be made and/or corrected at the supplier’s expense.

Scope of Project

The Eau Claire Area School District is requesting proposals for services that may plan and guide all aspects of a population study to better understand how shifts in current student population and potential future growth or contraction may impact current District operating guidelines. The vendor will collaborate with District Teams to complete this work. The overriding goal is that by the end of this project, the District will be confident in using the data provided to allow for projections in future enrollment, and any operating adjustments to best support students and the Eau Claire community.

Proposals must detail how each of the following components will be accomplished:

1. State a specific timeline. This will include project start/completion dates and include a contingency factor and recovery plans. The District’s preferred timeline is to have recommendations submitted to District Administration for review by Friday November 14th, 2025. If you are unable to achieve this timeline, please indicate what is feasible.

2. Include project milestones. This will include any points where a contingency or recovery point may be anticipated, as well as identification of any shift in strategy that may occur as information is gathered and completed for each milestone point. The District anticipates the following primary project milestones:

a. Phase #1- Historical Trends & Review of Existing Data

b. Phase #2- Potential Growth

c. Phase #3- Recommendations to District

3. List any anticipated staff involvement functions and anticipated time commitments for successfully executing this project.

4. A summary that includes a history of your company and the experience of your team. This should highlight past work experience with both school districts (preferred) and municipalities that included similar data analysis.

5. Review of current community demographics and projected future growth as outlined in known community developments.

6. Review of top operating adjustment options as presented by District Demographic Trends and Facility Planning Committee.

7. Community engagement initiatives that survey and quantify levels of support for proposed District revisions to operational structure.

8. Recommendations on, and justifications for, future District Operating Adjustments that may include-

a. Operating strategies that consider Eau Claire District community growth and/or student population growth/decline

b. Analysis of current district boundaries, and recommendations on adjustments based on anticipated student counts and operating school building locations.

9. Detail if any of the components of this project will be subcontracted.

10. A list of ALL school districts and cities you have worked with on birth rate data analysis and include 4 recent reference contacts. If possible, please provide school district references of a similar size to the Eau Claire Area School District. Located within Wisconsin is preferred.

11. A full breakout of the cost for the services separately, including expected payment schedule, and specify any cost variations or costing for optional or sub‐contracted services. Please detail any items that are outlined herein that are not fully included.

Evaluation Criteria

Representatives of the District will evaluate the proposals and rank them from the one most likely to the one least likely to meet the needs of the District to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. The District may call for interviews to clarify information and request proof of concepts received in the proposal.

The District reserves the right to be the sole judge as to the overall acceptability of any proposal or to judge the individual merits of specific provisions within competing offers and award the contract to the vendor, who at its sole discretion, is in the best interest of the District.

RFP Evaluation Criteria:

Proposed Approach and Schedule 35 Points Vendor Qualifications 30 Points References 5 Points Proposed Fee 30 Points_____

100 Points Total

Qualified Supplier Certification Statement

(Initial where indicated)

In submitting this proposal, I certify that I am a “Qualified Supplier” for providing the items and/or services outlined in this Request for Proposal. This certification as a “Qualified Supplier” attests to the following:

Contractor’s Qualifications (place your initials next to each item if you agree/concur):

A. ____ Our company has been in business for at least 3 years.

B. ____ Our company maintains a permanent place of business and is licensed to do business in the United States.

C. ____ Our company is not presently on any lists maintained by the Wisconsin Department of

Administration, or by any other State or the Federal Government, for noncompliance with any equal opportunity and/or affirmative action requirements.

D. ____ In connection with the performance of any work covered by this RFP, we agree not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, handicap, sex, physical conditions, developmental disability, sexual preference, or national origin.

E. ____ The Contractor agrees it is an Independent Contractor with respect to the services provide pursuant to this agreement. Nothing in this agreement shall be considered to create the relationship of the employer and employee between the parties.

Signature Page

Proposal by:

Company Name: ________________________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________________________________

Signature: ________________________________ Print Name: __________________________________

Title: __________________________________________________ Date: ________________________

Phone Number: _________________________________________________________________________

Email Address __________________________________________________________________________

Website: _______________________________________________________________________________

By signing this RFP Proposal Page the Vender, certifies: (1) this offer is made without previous understanding, conflict of interest, agreement or connection with any person, firm or corporation submitting a proposal on the same project: (2) is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud: (3) the person whose signature appears above is legally empowered to bind the firm in whose name the proposal is entered; (4) they have read the complete Request for Proposal and understand all provisions to perform the work required; and (5) mistakes in writing of the submitted proposal will be the supplier’s responsibility.