1513-20251218081831 WVSD.pdf

Request for Proposal 2026-2027 E-Rate Fiber Cabling Project

Water Valley School District

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Notice is hereby given to interested bidders that the Water Valley School District will receive written, sealed bids until the hour of 9:00 AM on February 10, 2026, at the Water Valley School District Central office at 544 Market, Water Valley, MS. Bids will be opened at 10AM on February 10, 2026 in the Boardroom or other designated area of the Water Valley School District Central Office.

2026-2027 E-Rate Cabling Project

The Water Valley School District wishes to replace the fiber infrastructure at all schools in the district. The project will also include installing an IDF and a 24 port PoE+ switch in the multipurpose building at WVHS.

The proposal must guarantee performance sufficient to fulfill the needs of the Water Valley School District as requested within this RFP. After implementation of the successful vendor's proposal, if additional equipment, cabling or labor is needed, the vendor will bear all costs necessary to satisfy the requirements of this RFP. There should be no recurring costs for further functionality.

A single bidder will be chosen to complete this project.

CLARIFICATION

If after the completion of this project, during normal operation of the network, the District discovers that the fiber network will not allow for the specifications required in this RFP as stated in paragraph three in page one of this document, then the vendor will be required to do whatever is necessary to meet the specifications with no additional cost to the Water Valley School District.

GENERAL

Provide internal connections as specified herein.

The specifications herein are provided to convey the intent of the systems and upgrades and do not indicate every cable or component necessary for the complete system that the proposing vendor shall provide.

Prices quoted shall be all-inclusive (including all applicable taxes, shipping costs, installation of equipment, training, technical support and trash removal) and represent complete installation and integration with the existing network where necessary. Prices quoted in the vendor’s response will remain in effect for a period of twelve (12) months from the time of the contract signing.

Omissions in the proposal of any provision herein described shall not be construed as to relieve the vendor of any responsibility or obligation to the complete and satisfactory delivery, operation and support of any services.

Should the vendor have questions or find discrepancies in, or omissions from this RFP, or shall be in doubt of its meaning, the vendor shall at once notify Water Valley School District. All questions should be addressed to Rogers Smith as outlined below. The preferred mode of contact is via email.

Rogers Smith Technical Coordinator rssmith@wvsdschools.com 662-473-1203

Questions must be submitted to the email address rsmith@wvsdschools.com. If a response is not received within 24 hours, it is the responsibility of the respondent to call Rogers Smith at 662-473-1203 (office) to confirm receipt of the message.

All questions and responses will be posted immediately on the District’s E-Rate RFP Procurement page at www.wvsdonline.com. It is the sole responsibility of the respondent to visit this page prior to bid submission to ensure they have the latest information. Any modifications or clarifications will be posted as an addendum on the Water Valley School District website. Addendums may also be requested by email from any respondents after the walkthrough is completed.

mailto:rssmith@wvsdschools.com

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

470 Filed and RFP Publication Dec 18, 2025

Walk throughs January 12, 2026 - February 6, 2026

Sealed bid deadline 9AM, February 10, 2026

Basis of Award:

• E-rate approval by USAC

• Provider must have current USAC SPAC.

• References of at least three installations of similar application size, complexity, and infrastructure design and installation method as proposed.

• Helpdesk and Network Management System

• Knowledge of Water Valley Schools IT Environment

• As per USAC rules, price will be the largest factor in determining the winning bid

Vendor preferred qualifications:

• Certified Information System Security Professional Certification (CISSP Certification)

• Experience working with HP/Aruba Switches

• Minimum 5 years in business

SERVICE PROVIDER'S RESPONSIBILITIES

1.Provision

The Service Provider must provide all supervision, tools, equipment, hardware and wiring materials as specified; transportation, unloading, inspecting, and keeping inventory as specified in attached contract documents. Whenever in the Contract the terms "provide, furnish, supply, install, etc.”, can be interpreted as requiring the Service Provider both to furnish and/or install materials, unless specific provisioning/installation of the materials by the District is denoted.

2.Ceiling Tiles

Provide for the removal and reinstallation of all ceiling tiles as needed. Any broken ceiling tiles will be replaced with equal or better quality of the damaged ceiling tiles.

3.Identification

The Service Provider will identify to the district any work necessitating cutting into or through any part of the building structure such as girders, beams, concrete, tile floors or partition ceilings.

4.Damage

The Service Provider will be responsible for repairs of damage to the building, roads, equipment, existing cable, or property. The Service Provider will promptly report to a representative of the District any such damage to the building, roads, equipment, existing cable, or property that may occur while performing work in the facilities.

5.Installation

Install the wire, cable, and/or associated hardware in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. All cabling and equipment shall be sufficiently labeled such that the equipment designation or purpose, interconnections and cabling endpoints can be easily determined

6.Test and Inspections

Conduct tests and inspections in the presence of the district technical representative after installation has been completed in order that the District may be assured that the requirements for the installation are met.

7.Completion Notification

Promptly notify the District designated contact of completion of all work.

8.Defects

The Service Provider will promptly correct all defects for which the Service Provider is responsible.

9.The District Contact

The Service Provider must coordinate all work with the District designated contact.

10.Cleanup

Upon completion of the work each day, the Service Provider must remove all tools, equipment, rubbish and debris from the premises and must leave the premises clean and neat and in the same condition as it was found.

11.Subcontractors

The Service Providers may use subcontractors to perform work. However, all responsibilities rest with the Service Provider and the District must be notified when a subcontractor has to be used.

12.Testing

The Service Provider will provide the District with complete detailed test results. The test results must be delivered to the District before payment.

13.Codes, Standards, and Ordinances

All work shall conform to the latest edition of the National Electrical Code, the Building Code, and all local codes and ordinances, as applicable. ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A and ANSI/EIA/TIA-569 shall be adhered to during all installation activities. Methodologies outlined in the latest edition of the BICSI Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual shall also be used during all installation activities. Should conflicts exist with the foregoing, the authority having jurisdiction for enforcement will have responsibility for making interpretation

14.Safety

The Service Provider shall take the necessary precautions and bear the sole responsibility for the safety of the methods employed in performing the work. The Service Provider shall at all times comply with the regulations set forth by federal, state, and local laws; rules; and regulations concerning “OSHA”, and all applicable state labor laws, regulations, and standards. The Service Provider shall indemnify and hold harmless the District from and against all liabilities, suits, damages, costs, and expenses (including attorney’s fees and court costs) that may be imposed on the District because of The Service Provider, subcontractor, or supplier’s failure to comply with the regulations stated herein.

15.Patents and Royalties

The Service Provider, without exception, shall indemnify and hold harmless the District and its employees from any liability of any nature or kind, including costs and expenses for or on account of any trademarked, copyrighted, patented, or non-patented invention, process, or article manufactured or used in the performance of the Contract, including its use by the District. If The Service Provider or subcontractor uses any design, device, or material covered by letters, patent, trademark, or copyright, it is mutually understood and agreed without exception that the proposal prices shall include all royalties or cost arising from the use of such design, device, or materials in any way involved in the work.

16.USAC Certifications

The Service Provider must be an approved USAC service provider with a current SPIN and SPAC. It will be the responsibility of the Service Provider to maintain all USAC certifications throughout the term of the contract.

17.Indemnification

The Service Provider shall indemnify and hold harmless the District, its agents and employees from or on account of any injuries or damages, received or sustained by any person or persons during or on account of any operation connected with this Contract; or by consequence or any negligence (excluding negligence by the District, its agents, or employees) in connection with the same; or by use of any improper material or by or on account of any act or omission of said Service Provider or its subcontractors, agents, servants, or employees. The Service Provider further agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the District, its agents or employees, against claims or liability arising from or based upon the violation of any federal, state, county, city, or other applicable laws, bylaws, ordinances, or regulations by The Service Provider, its agents, associates, or employees.

The indemnification provided above shall obligate The Service Provider to defend at its own expense or to provide for such defense, at the District’s option, of any and all claims of liability and all suits and actions of every name and description that may be brought against the District which may result from the operations and activities under this Contract whether the installation operations be performed by The Service Provider, subcontractor, or by anyone directly or indirectly employed by either.

The award of this Contract to The Service Provider shall obligate The Service Provider to comply with the foregoing indemnity provision; however, the collateral obligation of insuring this indemnity must be complied with as set forth.

Building Locations

Water Valley School District Main Office 544 Market Street Water Valley, MS 38965

Davidson Elementary School 207 Goode Street Water Valley, MS 38965

OBJECTIVE

Water Valley School District’s objective is for vendors to propose a solution to do the following:

1) Replace all fiber optics cables connecting buildings together with single mode fiber and all cables connecting existing MDF and IDF closets. Upgraded GBICs will be required to accommodate the upgraded speeds of the new fiber infrastructure, so upgraded switches at each MDF/IDF may be needed. WVSD has fiber SC connectors throughout the district, but is desired to change to LC. New GBICs will have to be able to work in existing switches (HP/Aruba 6300 Series and equivalent). Existing fiber conduits and raceways already in place may be reused. All old fiber must be removed and discarded. Vendor will not be responsible for any backplane closet connections between existing switches in the same stack (closet), but will need to provide equipment to support the faster fiber capabilities to other IDF/MDF equipment and incorporate any new switches into the closet stack. Virtual switch fabric can be used when stacking cables are not an option.

2) There are a few areas with daisy chain fibers. Vendor will replace any daisy chain fiber connections with hub and spoke connectivity back to the campus MDF. Daisy chain connections are less than 20% of all connections and will be shown at the walkthroughs. Most are at Water Valley High School.

3) All fiber runs shall terminate with ends that are inserted into standard GBICs. The WVSD school district is composed of multiple HP/Aruba 6200F series switches. It is desired any new switch be able to communicate with these switches, or a compatible or replacement of all switches in the district will be required at the cost of the vendor.

4) A fiber module will need to be installed into a Fortinet firewall. Must terminate into an LC connector or any other connector to match new fiber terminations if used in the district.

5) A small IDF will be needed in the multipurpose building behind the high school. This will be a new run of fiber. An existing Cat5 cable connects the building presently.

It is the vendor's responsibility to ensure that the equipment proposed meets the performance specifications of the manufacturer and the previously stated requirements. The Water Valley School District will not release the vendor from the performance guarantee required above, because of malfunctions or defects in equipment due to manufacturer error or flaws in the equipment.

Because of the diversity of possible solutions, the Water Valley School District is asking for detailed proposals to accomplish the task. Specifications will be general and minimal to allow proposals to be as innovative as possible.

All prospective vendors must complete a district walkthrough or onsite survey in order to be eligible to submit a bid. To schedule a walkthrough or onsite survey, you will need to contact Rogers Smith (see contact information below). Proposals from vendors who do not complete the onsite survey and walkthrough WILL NOT be considered.

Should the bidding propose a solution that does not meet the specifications listed below, the vendor must provide sufficient documentation that the District’s objective will be met with their solution. The scope of the work will be the entire Water Valley School District. The scope of work does NOT include the interconnections between campuses since those are covered under Category 1 services, but it should include whatever equipment is needed to be able to support updates to Category 1 services.

All responses to inquiries will be posted on The Water Valley School District Technology site so that all Service Providers can view them.

Cabling for Computer Endpoints

All cable and cabling components including jacks and patch panels used in this proposal will be minimum Category 6A rated if installed by the vendor.

The amount needed will be determined by the vendors proposed number of access points

● Bid must include cabling and all necessary components (patch cables, patch panels, jacks and mounts, crimp ends, GBICs, etc.).

● Bid must include the cost of labor and installation. Bids also need to have per unit pricing.

● Cabling must be neatly run and connected to the wall via J-hooks in the ceiling and may not lay directly on ceiling tiles or touch HVAC vents.

● When cabling runs outside of the building it must be placed in EMT conduit and attached to walkways.

● Vendors may use existing equipment such as raceways and J hooks if desired.

Other Considerations

Current Equipment

Switches

1. The Water Valley School District network is made up of HP 6200F series managed switches.

All switches have open SFP+ ports. All interswitch connections within the same cabinet must be made with stacking cables (where applicable) or virtual switch fabric.

2. Any VLAN configurations proposed in this project necessary to meet the requirements must be configured completely by the vendor using the existing switches. The Water Valley School District uses a relatively flat network and will provide any needed information to the vendor to comply with existing infrastructure. The only VLANs 1 and 8 for data, 150 for cameras and 200 for VoIP services.

General floor plans will be available at the walkthrough with locations of the MDF and IDF locations.

The maps are not drawn to scale. Onsite walkthroughs will identify building materials, existing cabling, etc. Vendors will be responsible for taking any needed measurements during the walkthrough.

Current Network Bandwidth and WAN Configuration

● Each building in the Water Valley School District is presently connected to the District Office via 1 Gbps ASE lines provided by CSpire. (This is subject to be upgraded in the near future.)

● Servers and centralized devices are located on the building sites and at the Central Office. Each site has several switch cabinets and a main demark area. Details will be given at the onsite survey or walkthrough.

● Currently, the District has a 2Gbps Internet connection that services the entire district which connects at Central Office. Traffic from the internet is firewalled, filtered and regulated by devices located at the central office.

E-Rate

This proposal request is for services to be subsidized under the Universal Services E-Rate Program for Schools and Libraries. No purchase order will be issued, no installation will occur and no services will be provided until approval of the form 471 application that is issued as a result of the proposals being submitted in response to this request.

RIGHT TO REJECT

The Water Valley School District reserves the right to accept or reject all proposals or sections thereof when the rejection is in the best interest of the school system. The Water Valley School District reserves the right to award without further discussion. Therefore, responses should be submitted initially with the most favorable terms the vendor proposes. The Water Valley School District reserves the right to reject the proposal of a vendor who has previously failed to perform properly or completed on time contracts and to reject the proposal of any vendor who in the opinion of the Water Valley School District Board of Trustee or Superintendent, is not in a position to adequately perform the contract. The Water Valley School District Board of Trustees or Superintendent reserves the right to reject any and all proposals any part or parts of a proposal, waive any technicalities/informalities, increase or reduce quantities, make modifications or specifications, and award any or the entire contract in a manner that is in the best interest of the Water Valley School District. Contracts will be awarded to the vendor submitting the proposal determined to be in the best interests of the Water Valley School District.

BID SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Bids will be opened at 10:00 a.m. on January 30, 2023, in the boardroom or other designated area in the Water Valley School District Central office at 544 Market, Water Valley, MS. Non electronic bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked as follows:

“2026-2027 E-Rate Fiber Project”

Envelopes not so marked will remain sealed. This is not necessary for electronic bids.

The Water Valley School District Board of Trustees or Superintendent reserves the right to reject any and/or all bids and waive any informalities.

The first page showing in the bid submission packet must be Attachment A so the total bid price may be easily seen for the bid tabulation. Failure to comply may result in bid disqualification.

Bids must include the following:

Attachment A Completed and Signed by the bidder.

(THIS PAGE MUST BE THE FIRST PAGE IN THE BID SUBMISSION DOCUMENTATION)

Attachment B Completed.

“Water Valley E-Rate Fiber Project 2026-2027” should be clearly marked on the face of the envelope as well as the opening date of February 10, 2026.

ATTACHMENT A

INFORMATION FORM (Type or Print ONLY)

NAME OF COMPANY

ADDRESS OF HOME OFFICE

CITY OF HOME OFFICE

STATE OF HOME OFFICE

COUNTY OF HOME OFFICE

9 DIGIT HOME OFFICE ZIP

PHONE # OF HOME OFFICE

Federal EIN

DUNS Number

E-Rate SPIN number

CONTACT Name

CONTACT Phone Number

CONTACT Email Address

By signing below, the vendor acknowledges that the prices listed on this sheet are the prices being bid for this project and that the vendor understands that portions of this Project may be funded from E-Rate Funds. This project is subject to funding availability and contingent upon E-Rate funding.

PRINTED NAME TITLE

SIGNED DATE

ATTACHMENT A - continued

PRICING INFORMATION

(You may submit your standard quotation instead of this document if you wish)

DELIVERED TO

Water Valley, Mississippi 38965

(Specific address to be determined prior to shipment)

Manufacture Part Number

Description QTY Unit Price Extended Price

ATTACHMENT B

Vendor Required Documentation

● Specifications for the proposed hardware.

● Vendors shall provide a written summary of their proposal as well as drawings of all sites labeled with the location of each access point being proposed and the path of the access points’ cabling to each network closet. Vendors will verify if the District has enough available switch ports and/or patch panel ports in each closet for their proposed solution.

● Current liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance.

● Documentation of the vendor’s wireless, switching and cabling certifications.

● Three K-12 wireless references.

● Must include a detailed Scope of Work describing this “turnkey” project.