REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

E-RATE Funding Year 26-27

WIRELESS ACCESS POINT REPLACEMENT PROJECT

Columbia School District

Technology Department 613 Bryan Avenue

Columbia, MS 39429

Contact: John Sabine, Technology Coordinator

Telephone: (601) 649-6391 ext. 1030

E-mail: jsabine@columbiaschools.org

District URL: www.columbiaschools.org

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

And

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP # ERATEFY26-27Equipment

Subject

RFP - The Columbia School District (the district) will accept sealed statements of qualifications (SOQ) and proposals from qualified firms/vendors to provide services necessary for installation and configuration of network equipment for the FY 26-27 (E-RATE) cycle. Bidders must have a Service Provider Identification Number (SPIN) and this SPIN must be included in the bid proposal. Those interested shall submit a signed, sealed SOQ and cost proposal to the district by 10:00 AM local time, 02/10/2026 at the address listed on page one of this RFP.

Purpose

Sites in scope: All E-Rate eligible campuses of Columbia School District (Columbia School District).

Proposals are being sought by the District to provide wireless access points for All E-Rate eligible campuses of Columbia School District, including associated /Ruckus SmartZone controller or equivalent or equivalent management licensing. upgrades (e.g., ICX series or equivalent) may be included as needed to support budgets and s for the AP deployment. Note: Cabling (new drops, fiber construction, closet cleanup) is NOT part of this solicitation and will be addressed under a separate RFP.

General Requirements

The District seeks enterpriseclass network equipment (es and wireless access points), vendorneutral, with appropriate /Ruckus SmartZone controller or equivalent or equivalent management and licensing.

Proposers should note applicable certifications.

Terms used throughout this RFP:

USAC–Universal Service Administrative Company

SPIN –Service Provider Identification Number

FCDL–Funding Commitment Decision Letter

FCC–Federal Communications Commission

SLD–School and Library District

USF — Universal Service Fund

All proposals and supporting documentation must be sent to:

(Submittal should be clearly labeled on the outside of the submittal)

Columbia School District

FY 26-27 Network Upgrade Project

RFP # ERATEFY26-27Equipment

Submittal should be addressed to:

Columbia School District

SEE ADDRESS ON PAGE ONE OF THIS RFP

One original and two copies of proposals and statements of qualifications are to be prepared and delivered either by mail or Federal Express to the District on or before 10:00 AM local time, 02/10/2026 where they will be time and date stamped. In addition, the bid must be broken down per school building and totals per school campus must be shown, as well as a grand total for the entire district project (PDF and Excel files must be submitted). All of the above bid documents must also be provided in electronic format on one jump drive or to the district’s if available. Please view the district’s website for instructions on how to access the or contact the school district office. Please do not fax proposals. In addition to the project total, any received bid must include the a breakdown of the discounted portion the school is responsible for.

Basis of Award

E-rate approval by USAC

The bidder must have SLD SPIN

References of at least two installations of similar application size and complexity.

Please see “Vendor Requirements” on the following pages for additional information.

Please also see “Criteria for Selection” in more detail.

Selection Schedule

Event Date(s)

Release of RFP to Vendors 12/15/2025 10:00AM

Vendor Site Visit Meeting 01/07/2026 10:00AM

Vendor Site Visit Meeting (Optional if at previous) 01/27/2026 10:00AM

Proposal Submission Deadline 02/10/2026 10:00AM

Opening of Proposals (Columbia School District Office) 02/10/2026 10:30AM

Questions regarding the RFP may be emailed to Bids@columbiaschools.org before February 3, 2026. A response within 3 business days will be posted on the district’s website and/or emailed to all bidders. It will be the responsibility of the vendor/bidder to check the website daily for any changes to the RFP or the listing of bidder questions and answers that may arise.

mailto:Bids@columbiaschools.org

NON-APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS

In the event funds are not appropriated by the School District governing body in any fiscal period for payments due under RFP # ERATEFY26-27Equipment, then the Technology Director, or Superintendent’s designee(s), will immediately notify the successful vendor(s), or designee(s), of such occurrence and this contract will terminate on the last day of the fiscal period for which appropriations were received without penalty or expense to the School District of any kind whatsoever, accept other payments herein agreed upon for which funds will have been appropriated and budgeted or are otherwise available.

AWARD OF SOME OR THE ENTIRE PROJECT MAY BE SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF

DISTRICT FUNDING AND PROJECT NEEDS.

Proposer’s response to the request must include a statement that the proposed terms will remain in effect and available for the project term identified as July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027 The work itself will consist of all aspects of technology implementation for which the district desires to contract with the selected Proposer(s). The school district’s vision for this technology project calls for the installation and configuration of new technology equipment, software, and services to improve the district’s network access point (backbone) infrastructure. Proposed solutions must integrate with the existing network environment to ensure seamless management and design.

Completion for the project is scheduled for June 30, 2027. The School District reserves the right to waive any informality and to reject any or all proposals. Proposers are prohibited from contacting or lobbying members of the School Board, school district administrators, school district employees, school district contractors, or school district consultants. Failure to conform to this condition will be grounds for disqualification of the proposer. Proposals and statements of qualifications are to include the information requested at the beginning of this RFP.

MANDATORY VENDOR SITE VISIT MEETING

A mandatory vendor site visit meeting will be held on the date and time listed under Selection Schedule at the beginning of the RFP at the school District central office and proceeding to the respective school campuses. Any questions received will be discussed at that time and responses will be posted on the district web site for everyone to review after the walk-throughs have been completed. Written questions will be allowed for any vendor interested in responding to the District’s RFP and responses again will be posted on the web site. The district will accept only ONE bid per vendor. This Network Upgrade Project will be awarded to a SINGLE vendor that can quote, install, all network equipment requested/required. The School District requires a “turnkey” solution for this project. Requested paper copies and electronic copies of the proposal and other required documentation must be sent in a sealed envelope clearly marked as listed at the beginning of the RFP or to the district’s if available. This Network Upgrade Project will include preferred equipment preference information and will be provided to each vendor who attends the vendor site visit meeting. This information will include a listing of equipment specifications and school campus maps with explanations. (If necessary) The equipment specification list provided is a minimum guideline list. If the bidder wishes to add to the district’s equipment list to improve the functionality of their proposed equipment, the bidder is encouraged to do so. Therefore, attendance on this walk-through is of utmost importance to allow the prospective bidder to receive a detailed equipment list and be able to visit each school campus. The information will also be discussed at the mandatory vendor visit.

The successful proposer must warrant all materials and workmanship for a minimum period of five

(5) years for all wireless access points. Manufacturer warranties must be included for all devices and equipment. No refurbished or gray-market equipment will be accepted. Preference is given to solutions utilizing the Ruckus SmartZone controller or equivalent or equivalent for management.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The district will utilize the following criteria (as the basis for the proposal evaluations & selection).

Factor Weight

Price of the ELIGIBLE Equipment, Services & Warranties 25%

Prior Experience with the District 15%

Personnel Qualifications, Professionalism & Scope of Work 10%

Management Integration w/ Current Network 15%

Company Provides all Services (No sub-contractors) 15%

Bid Documentation Includes Excel Spreadsheet of Quoted Equipment 10%

Preference to Mississippi Based Companies Attending Site Visit Meeting 10%

Total 100%

The district reserves the right to select outright a single proposer, and to waive the finalists’ state of the evaluation process in the event a Proposer has total points scored significantly higher than all the other Proposers responding to this RFP. The district in its sole discretion may accept or reject any or all responses to this RFP and may waive all formalities, technicalities, and irregularities. All bidders are placed on notice that award of the RFP will be based upon the products and services best suited to the district. The sole judgment of the district on such matters shall be final. The district has identified the factors itemized above under scoring criteria as critical to a company’s ability to effectively assist the district’s integration of technology. To be considered for evaluation, bidders must provide relevant responses to all sections of this RFP.

(100 evaluation points are possible). A separate response is requested for each criteria section.

Appropriate labeling required. (See details of each factor below and on the following pages).

Proposer must abide by the district’s bid policy.

Proposer must abide by the state of Mississippi bid laws.

Proposer must provide specific price quotes for eligible services. The district reserves the right to select a combination of pricing, services and/or Proposer(s) that appears best suited to meet the needs of the district. The proposer must allocate to the extent that a clear delineation can be made between eligible and ineligible components. The proposer(s) must provide school campus bid totals, as well as total cost for the entire project.

Prior Experience with the School District

The district has also determined that a company’s background, experience, and financial stability are essential for the success of a long-term relationship with its selected Proposer(s). Proposers responding to this RFP should include information about their company’s experience, financial stability, and quality of services and products and satisfaction of their clients. A minimum of three

(3) references (school districts preferred) should be included in the bid document.

Personnel Qualifications, Professionalism & Scope of Work

The district is seeking (an) E-rate Proposer(s) that has the depth, breadth, and quality of resources necessary to complete all phases of a broad technology and service project. In addition, the timely availability of these resources and related support elements will be critical to project success.

Describe the various resources from your company that will be made available to assist the district in the execution of its mission in performance of each scope of work (SOW). Provide resumes and related experience summaries to demonstrate the competencies and experience of typical personnel who would be assigned to the district program. Provide a list of industry standard certified employees and their certifications. Proposers must provide SOW and contract information for each school campus project being proposed.

Management Integration w/ Current Network

The district requires a network that will continue to provide the district with a modern, efficient, and reliable network to support bandwidth and data and provide all needed capabilities within the district school buildings. Reliability and high performance are key requirements of this networking plan, as the district network continues to support the technology needs of the future. Vendor’s proposal provides interoperability with the current District environment. Seamless integration with the current network.

Company provides all services ( no sub-contractors )

The district is interested in providers that provide all components, installations, and configurations for this RFP without sub-contractors.

Bid documentation includes Excel spreadsheets of all quoted equipment.

The district requests that all bid/quote documentation also include Excel spreadsheets to allow for seamless to the E-Rate 471 application process.

Mississippi Based Companies Attending Site Visit Meeting (K-12 Experience) The district is interested in providers that understand the technology, administrative, and instructional challenges facing today’s educators, children, and administrators. The education environment is vastly changing with challenges that make technology decisions more important as they reach the district constituencies. The respondent must show that their solutions are sustainable within the framework of the district’s resources to implement and maintain ongoing operations and that future support is local and Mississippi based.

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS FORMAT

Please provide the following information in the same format prescribed by this questionnaire.

Supplemental materials providing additional information may be attached, but the information requested below is to be provided in this format and sequence. Please provide succinct responses to the following questions and limit those responses to the page allowances set out in each item.

FIRM INFORMATION: (LIMIT 1/2 PAGE) Name of Firm:

Address of Home Office and Address of Branch Office if Applicable:

Telephone Number(s):

Fax Number(s):

Form of Business Organization (Corporation, Partnership, Individual, Joint Venture, Other):

Year Founded:

Primary individual to contact:

ORGANIZATION: (LIMIT 1/2 PAGE)

1. How many years has your organization been in business in its current capacity?

2. How many years has your organization been in business under its present name? Under what other or former names has your organization operated?

3. If your organization is a corporation, answer the following: Date of incorporation, State of incorporation, President’s name, Vice-President’s name(s), Secretary’s name, and Treasurer’s name.

4. If your organization is a partnership, answer the following: Date of organization, type of partnership, if applicable, names of general partner(s).

5. If your organization is individually owned, answer the following: Date of organization, name of owner.

6. If the form of your organization is other than those listed above, describe it and name the principals.

LICENSING: (LIMIT 1/2 PAGE)

1. List jurisdictions in which your organization is legally qualified to do business and indicate registration or license numbers, if applicable.

2. List jurisdictions in which your organization’s partnership or trade name is filed.

EXPERIENCE: (LIMIT 2 PAGES)

1. Describe your firm’s experience with completing this scope of work for public entities, if any.

2. Provide a list of the public entities previously assisted with contact names and phones numbers.

FEES:

1. Based on the scope of work outlined herein please describe your firm’s full price associated with the completion of this work for the Network Upgrade Project (RFP # ERATEFY26-27Equipment)

COORDINATION OF INSTALLATION

1. The Contractor shall be responsible for securing all permits and approvals necessary to complete the work (if required).

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. CONTRACT TERM

The term of the contract will begin when the school board approves, and a written contract is signed by both the district and the vendor/bidder selected. The term of the contract award will begin July 1, 2026. Initiation of the contract is dependent on E-Rate funding, in the event E-Rate does not fund the project then the contract will be null and void. In addition, a Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) does not guarantee the district will proceed with this project and may only be able to proceed with portions of the project on a per school campus basis.

2. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER TERMINATION

The district shall reserve the right to terminate any contract/purchase order entered into as a result of the REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL at any time by giving thirty (30) days written notice of its intent to cancel. In the event the Proposer fails to carry out and comply with any of the conditions and agreements to be performed under the specifications, the district will notify the Proposer, in writing, of such failure or default. In the event the necessary corrective action has not been completed within a 10-day period, the Proposer must submit, in writing, why such corrective action has not been performed. The district reserves the right to determine whether or not such non-compliance may be construed as a failure of performance of the contract/purchase order.

3. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

The successful Proposer must keep himself informed of, and adhere to, all laws and ordinances governing any matter related to work performed under the resulting contract/purchase order. The successful Proposer will obtain all necessary licenses and permits and will be aware of all labor conditions and agreements relating to the work specified in this document and shall make all provisions necessary to avoid any disputes which might arise from those conditions and agreements and shall be responsible for any delays, damages or extra costs caused by disputes.

4. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

It shall be the Proposer’s responsibility to provide for the safety of workers and public in compliance with the requirements of insurance and public health and safety. The district requires all workers on-site to have a company badge. A list of workers with current photographs must be provided to the school district’s Technology Department throughout the life cycle of the project(s) that require installation or services.

5. INDEMNIFICATION

The Proposer shall be responsible for all damage to persons or property that occurs as a result of his fault or negligence, or that of any of his employees, agents, or subcontractors. Proposer shall save and hold harmless the District and its School Board against any and all loss, cost, damage, claims, expense or liability in connection with the performance of the contract/purchase order. Any equipment or facilities damaged by the Proposer’s operation shall be repaired and /or restored to their original condition, including cleaning and painting, at the Proposer’s expense. The successful Proposer will assume the liability for all losses, damages (including loss of use), expenses, demands and claims in connection with or arising out of any injury or alleged injury to persons (including death), or damages or alleged damage to property, sustained or alleged to have been sustained in connection with or to have arisen out of the performance of the work by the Proposer, and his agents, and employees, including losses, expenses, or damages sustained by the District. The successful Proposer will undertake and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the district and its board, individually or collectively, and the officers, agents, and employees of the District and its Board, from any and all such losses, expenses, damages (including loss of use), and to pay all damages, judgments, costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees in connection with said demands and claims resulting thereof. Any claims against the district must be filed within the State of Mississippi within the county of the district. The Proposer shall abide by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations that apply to work performed under this Request. The Proposer shall defend, indemnify, and hold the district free and harmless against any and all claims, loss, liability and expense resulting from any alleged violation(s) of said regulation

(s) including but not limited to, fines or penalties, judgments, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

6. ATTORNEYS STATEMENT

In the event that the district employs attorneys or incurs other expenses that it may deem necessary to protect or endorse its rights under this contract/purchase order, the Proposer agrees to pay the attorney’s fees and expenses incurred by the district. If either party defaults in the performance of this agreement, the defaulting party shall pay the non-defaulting party responsible for the attorney’s fees and court costs.

7. NEGOTIATIONS

The district reserves the right to have any additional terms and conditions incorporated into the agreement provided an authorized modification to the contract/purchase order is mutually agreed upon and duly executed by both parties.

8. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

In the event of an inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the resulting contract/purchase order, the inconsistency shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order: (1) The REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, including the Scope of Work and Statement of Qualifications, and (2) Proposer Response.

9. PROJECT START DATE

The district reserves the right to start the project on or after July 1, 2026, even if the project has not yet received funding. All pricing proposed will be considered valid.

EXHIBIT E-1 (PROPOSER’S CONTRACT DOCUMENTS)

Proposer shall provide a contract for services to be offered. Proposer shall also provide a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to include resolution procedures, escalation process, and Proposer’s response structure (tiered or other).

Reference List

1 Company Contact Name

Phone Number Fax Number

E-Mail Address Physical Address

Scope of Work

2 Company Contact Name

Phone Number Fax Number

E-Mail Address Physical Address

Scope of Work

3 Company Contact Name

Phone Number Fax Number

E-Mail Address Physical Address

Scope of Work

Scope of Work

The awarded vendor will provide a turnkey wireless access point replacement project across all E- Rate-eligible campuses of the Columbia School District.

1. Furnish and deliver new Wi-Fi 7 indoor and outdoor access points to replace all existing APs across district campuses.

2. Provide and install additional APs only where necessary to eliminate coverage gaps identified during the mandatory site walkthrough.

3. Reuse existing CAT6 cabling where possible; install new CAT6 cabling only where required to support new access point locations.

4. Provide all required mounting hardware, injectors (if needed), and accessories for a complete, functional deployment.

5. Configure and integrate all equipment under a Ruckus SmartZone controller or equivalent management platform.

6. Configure SSIDs, VLANs, QoS, and wireless security settings in accordance with district standards.

7. Perform comprehensive post-installation testing to verify performance, coverage, and connectivity at all access point locations.

8. Deliver complete as-built documentation, including device models, serial numbers, installation locations, and configuration summaries.

9. Provide a detailed asset inventory spreadsheet (Excel format) suitable for E-Rate documentation and internal district tracking.

10. Supply a minimum five (5)-year warranty on all wireless access points and related hardware.