5-Bid 26-31 Cohesity Data Management and Security Platform.pdf

Ladies and Gentlemen:

SCCPSS

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System

208 Bull Street / Savannah, Georgia 31401/ (912) 395-5600

January 29, 2026

The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System ("SCCPSS") would like to take this opportunity to announce that it is requesting bids for Bid 26-31 Cohesity Data Management and Security Platform.

This Invitation to Bid ("ITB") packet identifies the goods and/or services requested by the SCCPSS and provides instructions for the submission of bids and supporting documentation (collectively "Bid Package(s)"). All Bid Packages should be submitted electronically in the format specified by uploading to the SCCPSS Purchasing Department e-

Procurement portal at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com.

Please include with your Bid Package all documents requested by this solicitation, including, but not limited to, a copy of your firm's current business license and certificate of insurance, and other documents referenced in Section III.B.

"Documents to be Included with Bid Packages." Failure to include all of the information and/or documents requested by SCCPSS could result in the Bidders' submittal not being considered.

The following table provides the anticipated timeline of events associated with this solicitation, which may be modified by SCCPSS by addenda:

First Date of Advertisement (online and print)

Second Date of Advertisement (print) Pre-Bid Conference Date and Time (if any)

Invitation to Bid Timeline

Deadline for Bidder Questions, Requests for

Interpretations, Requests for Material Substitution of Products, Services or Contract Terms

Bid Closing Date and Time (after which Bid Packages will be reviewed by the Purchasing Department) Bid Submission Location

Bid Opening Location Notice of Intent to Award

Execution of Contract

January 29, 2026

February 12, 2026 N/A

February 18, 2026 by 5:00:00 p.m. (ET)

March 3, 2026 at 2:00:00 p.m. (ET)

SCCPSS Purchasing Department e-Procurement portal at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com

Electronically through the Bonfire Portal March 10, 2026 (on or about)

Approval of Award by Final Decision Maker TBD

TBD

If you have any questions concerning this solicitation, please submit them in writing through the Vendor Discussions section at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com. Please note that all communications relating to this solicitation must be directed to the Purchasing Department pursuant to SCCPSS policy.

Thank you for your interest in providing goods and services to the SCCPSS.

Sincerely, LaluR JoulaSabrina L. Scales, NIGP-CPP, CPPB Senior Purchasing Director

Vision- From school to the world: All students prepared to be successful and productive citizens

Mission- Together, we ignite and foster lifelong learning at the highest levels for all

"AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER"

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INVITATION TO BID (ITB): Bid 26-31

Cohesity Data Management and Security Platform

I. INTRODUCTION

orThe Board of Public Education for the City of Savannah and the County of Chatham (the "District"

"SCCPSS"), the body corporate responsible for public education in Chatham County, which is commonly known as the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, seeks sealed bids as specified in this Invitation to Bid ("ITB") Bid 26-31 Cohesity Data Management and Security Platform.

It is worth noting at the outset that this ITB is a competitive sealed bidding process. The contract, if one is awarded at all, will be awarded to the responsible and responsive Bidder by means of the award process described in "Attachment A - Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Bids, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements."

Vendors who wish to be awarded a contract by the District to provide the goods and/or services requested by this ITB shall be referred to herein as the "Bidder(s)" or "Offeror(s)." To be considered for an award of a contract under this ITB, Bidders should carefully read this solicitation document, and all of the forms, product specifications, service requirements, contract documents, or other materials that may be attached hereto or referenced herein. This ITB and the associated documents identify the goods/and or services requested by the District, contain the instructions for preparing and submitting bids and supporting documentation (collectively "Bid Packages"), and outline the process by which the District will award a contract for those goods and/or services, if it decides to award a contract at all.

II. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THIS ITВ

А. A "Cone of Silence" Applies to this ITB.

A "Cone of Silence" is imposed upon this ITB after advertising and terminates at the time the District awards a contract. Except as specifically set forth below, the Cone of Silence prohibits any communications in any form (whether written, oral, or electronic) by, or on behalf of, a prospective Bidder for this solicitation, including any persons affiliated with or in any way related to a prospective Bidder, with any District employee, any member of the elected Board of Education that serves as the District's governing body, the Superintendent or her staff, and any other persons involved in evaluating the bid, such as program managers or members of any selection committee. The Cone of Silence is intended to prohibit lobbying for, or against, a particular Bidder or Bidders and to prevent prospective Bidders from circumventing the process for selection set forth in this ITB.

The Cone of Silence does not apply to oral communications with the Senior Director of Purchasing, or the Senior Director of Purchasing's designees, at pre-bid conferences, site visits (as applicable), presentations before selection committees, contract negotiations with bidders selected for award, or at other times expressly allowed by this solicitation. Written communications expressly authorized by this solicitation, such as (1) the submission of the bid itself, (2) requests for interpretation, requests for material substitutions, protests, or similar inquiries to the purchasing department, (3) documents circulated at oral presentations before selection committees, or (4) documents circulated in connection with contract negotiations with the bidder(s) selected for award are also permitted in communication with the Senior Director of Purchasing or the Senior Director of Purchasing's designees. The Cone of Silence does not apply to presentations allowed by Board policy or to the

Board of Education at a duly called public meeting.

In addition to any other penalties provided by law, violation of the Cone of Silence by any bidder may result in the rejection of the bidder's response and disqualify the bidder from being awarded any contract as a result of this solicitation. Any person having personal knowledge of a violation of these provisions shall immediately report such violations to the District's Purchasing Department.

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B. The Goods and/or Services Requested by the District.

The goods and/or services requested by the District in this ITB are described in more detail in "Attachment

A- Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Bids, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract

Requirements," which is incorporated into this ITB by this reference.

C. The Advertising Process for this ITB.

This ITB is being advertised on the SCCPSS Bonfire Portal which can be accessed through the link listed above and the link on the Purchasing Department page of the SCCPSS website, www.sccpss.com, from the

"First Date of Advertisement" set forth in the Invitation to Bid Timeline on the first page of this ITB until the "Bid

Closing Date and Time" set forth in the Invitation to Bid Timeline on the first page of this solicitation, or as modified by subsequent addenda.

This ITB is also being advertised on the Georgia Procurement Registry ("GPR") from the "First Date of Advertisement" (if the "First Date of Advertisement" is a weekday) or the first business day following the First

Date of Advertisement, if the First Date of Advertisement falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or SCCPSS holiday.

This Invitation to Bid (ITB) is also being advertised in the Savannah Morning News, the newspaper for legal notices in Chatham County, on the First Date of Advertisement and the Second Date of Advertisement set forth in the Invitation to Bid Timeline on the First Page of this Solicitation.

D. Pre-Bid Conferences Held by the Purchasing Department.

If a pre-bid conference has been scheduled for this solicitation, the date, time, phone number, and location will be outlined in the chart below. Bidder should raise any questions it may have about the solicitation or the procurement at that time. A bidder may not rely on any verbal responses to questions at the conference.

Material issues raised at the conference that result in changes to the solicitation shall be answered solely through a solicitation addendum. If the below table is blank, then no pre-bid conference is scheduled.

Date: Time:

Location: Phone Number:

Other Pre-Bid Conference Information:

E. Submission of Bid Packages in Response to this ITВ.

Bidders shall timely deliver Bid Packages by uploading to the e-Procurement portal, https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com, BEFORE the "Bid Closing Date and Time" listed on the Invitation to Bid Timeline on the first page of solicitation, unless the "Bid Closing Date and Time" is extended by the District by an addendum to this solicitation. Bid Packages shall be uploaded to the portal as PDF documents.

The Bonfire Hub is a procurement portal provided to the District by Bonfire Interactive. The Bonfire Hub is offered at no charge to Bidders, but Bidders will be required to register with Bonfire to submit their Bid Packages. It is recommended that Bidders register with Bonfire before the date of bid submission to help ensure that they are not delayed in submitting a Bid Package by the registration process. It will not be sufficient for a Bidder to have started the registration process before the "Bid Closing Date and Time." The Bid

Package must be fully uploaded and received by the Bonfire Hub System before the "Bid Closing Date and Time.

Please include with your Bid Package all documents requested by this solicitation, including, but not limited to, copies of any requested licenses. Failure to include all of the information and/or documents requested by this solicitation could result in the Bidders' Bid Package not being considered by SCCPSs.

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If a required form has a signature block for a notary, please sign that form in the presence of a notary and have the form notarized.

Time is of the essence. Bidders are responsible for ensuring that their bids are submitted in a timely manner through the e-Procurement portal. If a Bidder does not receive confirmation that its Bid

Package has been received after submission, then the Bidder should contact the Bonfire Support Team at support.bonfire@eunasolutions.com. While SCCPSS will accept all bids received in the https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com portal before the Bid Closing Date and Time, bidders should not wait until the last minute to submit bids. It shall not be sufficient to show that the Bidder was in the Bonfire Portal and in the process of uploading a Bid Package at the "Bid Closing Date and Time." The submission must be timely completed through the portal to be accepted. The prevailing time will be that which shows receipt by the District through its e-Procurement portal. The District will not accept any Bid Package not timely submitted through the e-Procurement Portal.

By way of example, if the Bid Closing Date and Time is 11:00 a.m. (ET), Bidders should plan to have their Bid Packages submitted by 10:59:59:99 a.m., because they will not be able to submit their Bid Package through the e-Procurement Portal once 11:00 a.m. (ET) arrives, as determined by the e-Procurement Portal's time stamp.

The "Bid Closing Date and Time" may be extended for all prospective bidders within the discretion of the

Senior Director of the Purchasing Department or her designee for any reason. A non-exclusive list of reasons why the deadline may be extended includes: the issuance of addenda to this ITB or the associated specifications, a total absence of bids, District closure due to inclement weather, etc. The Senior Director of the Purchasing Department will either extend the deadline for all Bidders or not all.

F. Withdrawal of Bid Packages.

Bidders may withdraw Bid Packages at any time prior to the "Due Date and Time" set forth in the

Invitation to Bid Timeline on the first page of this solicitation or as may be amended by addendum.

Bidders may resubmit a new Bid Package provided it seeks to do so prior to the "Due Date and Time" for

Bid Package submission.

Except as allowed by law with the consent of the District, Bid Packages cannot be withdrawn or modified after the submission deadline. Care should be taken to ensure that information provided is accurate, complete, and consistent. Omission of any of the required information may subject the Bidder to disqualification.

The District reserves the right to request information or respond to inquiries for clarification purposes only, but it is not required to give bidders an opportunity to correct inaccurate or incomplete Bid Packages.

To revise and withdraw a bid prior to the scheduled deadline, please submit your withdrawal request at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com.

Bid Packages may not be withdrawn after the "Due Date and Time" (as may be amended) except as allowed by law with the consent of the District.

G. Receipt and Tabulation of Bids.

The District will keep a record of when Bid Packages are received, and PDFs of the Bid Package shall be saved to a limited access computer file prior to the submission deadline where it will be kept confidential until bid opening, unless sooner withdrawn by a Bidder as allowed by this solicitation. Bids formally withdrawn prior to bid opening will not be publicly opened or considered and may not be kept after they are withdrawn from the

Bonfire System. The District or its e-Portal provider may keep records of withdrawn submissions. After the deadline for submitting Bid Packages, bids will be publicly opened and examined. A copy of the bid tabulation will be posted to the District's website.

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H. Timely-filed, Signed Bids Considered an Offer.

a

A Bidder's timely-filed, signed bid shall be considered an offer on the part of the bidder which may become binding contract on the Bidder if accepted by the District at the conclusion of the bid evaluation process. By submitting a bid in response to this ITB, Bidder agrees that bid will remain open for acceptance by the District for at least ninety (90) days without any changes in terms or pricing.

In the event that the Bidder refuses to perform its promises made in its offer after acceptance by the District, the District may take such action as it deems appropriate to redress the bidder's failure to perform, including legal action for damages or equitable relief, including specific performance, for the Bidder's lack of required performance. To the extent the Bidder provided a bid bond, the District may seek payment on the bid bond.

I. Form and Formatting of Bid Packages.

The form and formatting requirements for bids requested by this ITB are described in "Attachment A-

Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Bids, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements" and in the attached Bid Form.

J. Bid Bonds.

A bid bond IS NOT required with bidder's bid for this ITB.

K. Performance and Payment Bonds.

L.

Payment and Performance bonds ARE NOT required for this ITB.

Bidder's Essential Credentials and Business Structure to be considered a "Responsible Bidder."

To even be considered for a possible award of a contract for the goods and/or services requested by this ITB, a Bidder must be deemed a "responsible" Bidder by the District's Purchasing Department.

To be considered a "responsible" Bidder for the purpose of this ITB, a Bidder must be able to meet the minimum licensing, bonding, insurance, and contractual requirements of this ITB. The District reserves the right to request a Bidder provide additional information or documentation to demonstrate that it is a "responsible" Bidder. Failure to provide the requested additional information, in itself, will be sufficient grounds for the District to declare the Bidder to be not "responsible" or "non-responsive" for the purposes of this IТВ.

If the goods and/or services provided by Bidder are a technology product (such as software) the Bidder must demonstrate that its technology product complies with the District's adopted accessibility standard and, if it fails to do so, then the Bidder may be disqualified as a non-responsive offeror. The

District retains discretion to determine which Bidders meet the District's adopted accessibility standard, so long as all Bidders are held to the same accessibility standard. In the event that no Bidder providing a technology product (such as software) offers a technology product that complies with all of the requirements of the District's adopted accessibility standard, the District reserves the right to consider only those Bidders whose standards are as close as possible to the District's adopted accessibility standard. The District may request a compliance report or other documentation to show that the Bidder can comply with the adopted accessibility standard.

To be considered a "responsible" Bidder, the Bidder's majority (51%) ownership, whether public or private, must be held by citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States.

To be considered a "responsible" Bidder, the Bidder must demonstrate that it is either a) an in-state or out-of-state for profit, nonprofit, or professional corporation or limited liability company registered to transact business in the State of Georgia, b) an out-of-state for profit, nonprofit, or professional corporation that is excused

SCCPSS General Bid - No Bonds- Template 4/12/25 Bid 26-31 Cohesity Data Management and Security Platform Page 5 from registering to transact business in the State of Georgia, c) a partnership, limited partnership, or joint venture that can demonstrate to the District's satisfaction through formal governing documents (such as a partnership agreement), insurance certificates, or other written documents that it has the ability and capacity to provide the goods and/or services requested by the District in the time and manner expected by the District; d) or an individual who can demonstrate through insurance certificates or other written documents to the District's satisfaction that he/or she has the capacity to provide the requested goods and/or services in the time and manner expected by the District. The attached solicitation forms will ask questions to ascertain information about the capacity of the bidder, and bidders should supply the most up-to-date version of any requested corporate registrations or corporate documents.

To be considered a "responsible" Bidder, the Bidder must demonstrate that it has all required business licenses or professional certifications needed to provide the required goods and/or services in the State of Georgia. The Bidder must provide copies of the most-up-to-date version of any required licenses or certifications.

To be considered a "responsive" and "responsible" Bidder, Bidder should disclose any possible conflicts of interests that may exist between Bidder and any Related Party and the SCCPSS, SCCPSS School Board members, or SCCPSS employees, so that the District can seek to evaluate the potential conflict of interest and determine whether a transaction with Bidder is appropriate given the potential conflict of interest under Board Policy or other applicable law. The District shall have discretion to determine and evaluate potential conflicts of interest under its own policies, such as Policy GAG, and to determine whether a Bidder will be disqualified because of a potential conflict of interest. Some questions in the Bidder Information Form (Solicitation Form 1) are designed to help identify and evaluate potential conflicts of interest. If a Bidder declines to provide additional information requested to evaluate a potential conflict of interest, the Bidder may be disqualified as "non-responsive".

Bidders shall be required to disclose whether Bidder, any Related Party, or any individual working for Bidder is a beneficiary under Georgia's Teacher Retirement System (TRS) or the Public School Employees

Retirement System (PSERS). No such individual shall provide any services to the District until their information and eligibility to perform services has been certified through TRS or PSERS. The Contractor agrees to provide any information required by TRS or PSERS. Any employees or other individuals working for or through the Contractor receiving retirement benefits under Georgia's TRS or PSERS shall be subject to any applicable salary and service limitations as outlined in Georgia law, TRS, or PSERS policy. If TRS or PSERS does not approve the engagement of a Bidder or an individual working for Bidder because they are a TRS or PSERS beneficiary, the District may disqualify or terminate a bidder or disallow a particular individual from providing services to the District and declare the Bidder "not responsible" or not "responsible."

More project-specific requirements for the Bidder to be considered a "responsible" bidder are set forth in more detail in "Attachment A- Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Bids, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements," which is incorporated by this reference.

M. O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 and E-Verify Compliance Required for "Responsible" Bidders.

To be considered a "responsible" Bidder, all Bidders are required to comply with O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91, a Georgia statute that prohibits a public employer such as the District from entering into any contract with a contractor who fails to participate in the federal work authorization program E-Verify or fails to demonstrate that it is not required to participate in the E-Verify program. In order to be deemed a "responsible" Bidder eligible for this ITB, the Bidder must provide the affidavit(s) or other documentation required O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91. While the District provides sample O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 affidavit forms in this ITB, Bidders are solely responsible for familiarizing themselves with their obligations under O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91 and making sure that they provide the District with the required documentation. Information on enrolling in the E-Verify program can be found at:

https://www.e-verify.gov/employers/enrolling-in-e-verify.

N. The District's Reservation of Rights to Cancel this ITB, to Amend the ITB Process, to Disqualify Bidders, and to Waive Irregularities and Technicalities.

The District, in the discretion of the Senior Purchasing Director, the Chief Financial Officer, the

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Superintendent, or the District's governing body, the elected School Board, may cancel this ITB at any time before the District executes a contract with any Bidder(s). The District may decline to purchase the goods and/or services solicited in this ITB at all, or it may decide to purchase some or all of the same goods and/or services through a similar or different procurement process.

The District, in the discretion of the Senior Purchasing Director, the Chief Financial Officer, the Superintendent, or the District's governing body, the elected School Board, reserves the right to amend this ITB and all attachments in any way and at any time (without cancelling it in its entirety) before the deadline for the submission of bids. Any addenda amending this ITB will be made available to all Bidders on the District's website. The submission deadline will be extended at least seventy-two (72) hours if any addenda are issued less than seventy-two (72) hours before the submission deadline.

The District further reserves the right to amend this ITB in any way after the deadline for the submission of bids (without cancelling the ITB in its entirety), except the District will not amend the original bid formatting or submission requirements or the criteria for determining whether the Bidder is a "responsive" or "responsible" Bidder.

A non-exclusive example of such an amendment to this ITB may be the addition of an inadvertent omission from the project specifications.

The District further reserves the right to redo any stage of this ITB (without cancelling it in its entirety) if the District, in the discretion of the Senior Purchasing Director, the Chief Financial Officer, the Superintendent, or the District's governing body, the elected School Board, has concerns that a stage of the ITB should be redone to eliminate any question of whether it was conducted properly.

The District reserves the right to reject any and all bids submitted in response to this ITB, and to waive any irregularities or technicalities in bids received whenever such rejection or waiver is in the best interest of the District.

The District has the right to disqualify a bid of any Bidder on the basis that the bid is "nonresponsive" or the

Bidder is "not responsible."

A bid may be deemed "nonresponsive" if it fails to include all of the information or documents required by this ITB. Accordingly, Bidders should carefully review this solicitation to determine all of the forms and additional documentation, such as business licenses, corporate registrations, insurance certificates, and tax documents, that will be required for submission. Forms with signature blocks should be signed, and forms with notary blocks should be signed in the presence of a notary and notarized.

A Bidder shall be deemed "not responsible" if the District determines that the Bidder fails to meet the minimal requirements to be eligible for consideration, including but not limited to, a lack of capacity to do the work or provide the services requested, a lack of proper insurance, the lack of a valid business license, failure to satisfy e-Verify requirements, negative past performance ratings on District projects, being disqualified from working for the District because of poor performance on a prior project, a litigation history unsatisfactory to the District, or some other reason that gives the District reason to question the responsibility or reliability of the Bidder.

The District will also evaluate whether the Bidder's workload will allow the bidder to complete this project within the established time, quality, or cost, or to comply with the bidder's contract obligations. In evaluating the bidder's workload, the District may consider whether the bidder has submitted bids on other District projects and whether the award of multiple projects to the bidder may impair the bidder's ability to complete this project within the established time, quality, or cost, or to comply with the bidder's contract obligations or otherwise pose a risk to the District.

The District reserves the right to request a Bidder to provide additional information in response to any concern that a Bidder may not be a "responsible" Bidder. Failure to provide the requested additional information, in itself, will be sufficient grounds for the District to declare the Bidder to be not "responsible" for the purposes of this ITB.

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Bidders represent that, to the best of their knowledge, all information that they submit to the District in response to this ITB, whether through a bid or otherwise, is true and correct. If the District determines that information submitted by the Bidder is incorrect, the District may disqualify a bid as "non-responsive." If the District determines that a Bidder intentionally misrepresented information submitted in response to the ITB, the District may disqualify the Bidder on the basis that it is "not responsible" for this solicitation and in future solicitations.

O. Evaluation and Award of Contract.

A contract with the District, if one is awarded at all, for the goods and/or services requested in this ITB will be awarded by means of the award process described in "Attachment A - Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Bids, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements."

Depending on the nature of the goods and/or services the District may provide a sample of the contract it is willing to execute with a successful Bidder. If such a sample contract is attached, then the Bidder is deemed to have agreed that all of the terms contained therein will be acceptable by submitting a bid. If the Bidder wants to propose materially different terms, then the Bidder should file a request for Material Substitution using the procedure outlined above before submitting its bid.

For other goods and/or services, the District may ask Bidders to provide a proposed contract. The terms of that proposed contract will be evaluated as part of the selection process to determine whether the Bidder is

"responsive" and "responsible." The specifications for the goods and/or services requested by this ITB may also include specific contract terms outlined in "Attachment A - Goods and/or Services Requested, Format of Bids, Evaluation Criteria for Award, and Contract Requirements" that should be included in any contract proposed by a Bidder.

By way of a non-exclusive example, the specifications may provide that the District will not agree to any contract provision requiring the District to indemnify any Bidder as such provisions are prohibited by District policy and state law. Conversely, there may be times when the District requires a Bidder to maintain certain levels of insurance, to honor certain warranties, or to provide indemnities to the District.

The District reserves the right to negotiate any and all terms of any and all contracts before they are executed by a District representative with authority to bind the District under board policy based on the dollar amount of the transaction or with express authority following a vote by the District's governing body, the elected School Board.

P. Consideration of Bidder Past Performance.

Successful Bidders should be advised that they will be evaluated by the District over the duration of the contract period. Performance will be documented. Poor performance may result in the Bidder being disqualified on future ITBs or may result in the deduction of points from the Bidder on future District solicitations, whether they are other invitations to bid or requests for qualifications and requests for proposals. Good performance may result in the Bidder receiving additional points on future solicitations.

Q. Public Information.

It is the policy of the District that after final award of a contract as a result of this solicitation by a final decisionmaker under board policy depending on the dollar value of the contract, the contents of all bids will be placed in the public domain and be open to inspection by interested parties. Trade secrets or proprietary information that are recognized as such and are protected by law may be withheld, if clearly identified as such in the bid. Failure to list all proprietary sections of the submitted bid shall relieve the District from any responsibility should such information be viewed by the public, a competitor, or be in any way accidentally released.

If this ITB is cancelled before an award is made, bids will not be made available for public inspection, except as may be required by law, to prevent Bidders from having an unfair advantage in future solicitations for the same goods or services.

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R. Bidder Questions, Requests for Interpretations, Requests for Material Substitution of Products, Services or Contract Terms, and Issuance of Addenda.

If a Bidder should have any questions relating to an ITB, including but not limited to the interpretation of

ITB language, the specifications for the goods and/or services requested and/or requests for the substitution of different materials, products, or services, the terms of sample contract provisions attached to this solicitation and/or requests to propose different contract terms, the preparation or submission of Bids, or the evaluation and contract award process outlined in this ITB, the Bidder may deliver written requests for interpretation or requests for the substitution of products, services, or contract terms to the Purchasing Department through the - Procurement portal at https://sccpss.bonfirehub.com.

When reference is made in the specifications as to a particular manufacturer, type of process, brand name, or model number, such references are usually, but not always, made to designate minimum acceptable levels of quality and do not indicate a preference. In some instances, a particular manufacturer, type of process, or brand name is required.

In the event a Bidder would like to propose another manufacturer, process, brand name, model number, etc. other than those stated in the specifications for this ITB, the Bidder must provide complete technical information, specifications, manufacturer's name, model number and a complete list of deviations from stated specifications. The burden of proof for documenting that the proposed substitute is equal to the goods or services identified in the specifications rests with the Bidder. All determinations of the acceptability of the proposed substitute goods or services shall rest with the District staff and their decision shall be final.

Bids on equipment must be on standard, new equipment of the latest model and in current production, unless otherwise specified. Used, reconditioned, or refurbished equipment is not acceptable unless otherwise specified.

Inc.

All regularly manufactured stock electrical items must bear the label of the Underwriters Laboratories, Any obvious error or omission in specifications shall not inure to the benefit of the Bidder but shall put the

Bidder on notice to inquire of or identify the same from the District.

If the Bidder wishes to propose materially different terms than those requested by the District in

Attachment A or in any Sample Contract, then Bidder should request to propose different Contract terms by identifying the provisions it wishes to change or wishes to add.

All answers to questions for interpretation, requests for material substitution and requests for changes of contract terms shall be made by addenda to the ITB and shall be made available to all Bidders on the District's website. While the District will also make a good faith effort to email any addenda to all Bidders who attended pre-bid conferences, submitted requests for interpretations to the District, or otherwise communicated an interest to receive notice of addenda, the District's failure to provide a Bidder with individualized notice of an addenda will not provide a Bidder with grounds to protest the implementation of this ITB. Bidders are ultimately responsible themselves for keeping track of addenda issued by the District before the deadline for submitting bids in response to this IТВ.

All requests for interpretation, substitution, or changes to contract terms, must be submitted to the Purchasing Department before the Deadline for Written Questions/Requests for Substitution set forth in the Invitation to Bid Timeline as set forth on page 1 of this solicitation, as may amended. The District shall not be required to answer any questions about this ITB submitted after 4:59:59:99 p.m. (ET) on the date of this deadline.

The Senior Purchasing Director, or her designee, in her discretion, may extend the deadline for submitting requests for interpretation for all Bidders.

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S. Protests.

Any actual Bidder or bona fide prospective Bidder who is aggrieved in connection with this ITB may protest to the Senior Purchasing Director by email to purchasing@sccpss.com. Please include

"PROTEST- [BIDDER NAME] BID NUMBER, BID NAME," clearly marked in UPPER CASE in the subject line of the email. It is incumbent upon the Bidder to receive confirmation from the Purchasing

Department that its protest has been received. Bidders who do not receive confirmation of the protest by email during normal business hours of 9:00:00 a.m. to 5:00:00 p.m. on the day the protest is sent should call the Purchasing Department to confirm receipt of the protest at (912) 395-5572.

By submitting a Bid in response to this ITB without filing a protest observing the deadlines set forth below, the Bidder waives any objection to the content of this ITB (including any attachment or addenda) issued prior to as well as any objection to any procedure outlined therein. Protests filed after the deadline for submissions shall only concern the implementation of the ITB as applied to the Bidder or addenda issued after the submission date.

Any protest to the content of this ITB (including any attachment or addenda) as well as any objection to any procedure or evaluation criteria outlined therein shall be filed no later than five (5) business days prior to the deadline for submissions of bids, unless the objection concerns an addendum issued fewer than five (5) business days prior to the deadline for submissions of bids, in which case, an objection may be filed to that addenda only at any time before the submission deadline.

Any protest filed after the submission deadline shall be submitted within five business (5) days after the action by the District on which the grievance is based, but in no case later than five business (5) days after the date of the District's notice of intent to award a contract for the provision of goods and/or services requested in his ITB, which will be transmitted by email to all Bidders.

The District shall not intentionally withhold information that is stated in this ITB to be forthcoming at certain intervals, but failure of the District to notify a Bidder who might be aggrieved by the content of such notification shall not give rise to any claim or rights resulting from said failure. Only formal protests will be considered, and in order for a protest to be considered as formal, it must be presented in written form, and must contain a minimum of the following:

A specific identification of the statutory or regulatory provision(s) that the District's purchasing staff member or department is alleged to have violated, A specific description of each act alleged to have violated the statutory or regulatory provision(s) identified above, A precise statement of the relevant facts that include timelines and all involved parties, and

An identification of the issue(s) that needs to be resolved that support the protest.

The letter of protest shall be taken under consideration by the Chief Financial Officer and/or the

Superintendent, who shall respond to the protesting Bidder within ten (10) business days of receipt of the letter of protest. The initial written response may explain that the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Superintendent need additional time to review the Protest. In any event, a final decision will be issued on the Protest by the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Superintendent before the execution of a final contract with the successful Bidder. An unresolved protest will not preclude the School Board from approving an award at a public meeting, but the resulting contract will not be executed until a final decision on the protest is made by the Chief Financial

Officer and/or the Superintendent. The written decision of the Chief Financial Officer or Superintendent shall be final and conclusive.

T. Bidders Not Entitled to Reimbursement for their Costs Associated with Submitting Bids.

The District recognizes that participating in this ITB process, or any government procurement process, can be time consuming and expensive for Bidders. In participating in part of this process, Bidders acknowledge that their costs in participating in this process are the costs of attempting to do business with the District.

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All Bidders or potential Bidders, including unsuccessful Bidders or Bidders or potential Bidders who file protests, agree that the District shall not be responsible for reimbursing the Bidder for any costs they may incur in connection with this ITB, including staff time, printing costs, attorneys' fees, or expenses of litigation.

U. Gratuity Prohibition.

No Bidder shall offer any gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value to any official, board member, employee, or other agent of the District for the purpose of influencing or discouraging an award as a result of this solicitation.

V. Certification of Independent Submission of Bids.

By submitting a bid in response to this ITB, the Bidder must certify that:

1. The information in this bid has been arrived at independently, without consultation, communication, or agreement, for the purpose of restricting competition with any other Bidder or with any competitor;

2. The information in this bid has not been knowingly disclosed by the Bidder and will not knowingly be disclosed by the Bidder prior to the District's final determination regarding this ITB, directly or indirectly to any other Bidder or to any competitor;

3. No attempt has been made or will be made by the Bidder to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a bid for the purpose of restricting competition; and,

4. In the event the Bidder is a partnership or joint venture, each party thereto certifies the above.

W. Federal Requirements

The District receives a number of federal grants. Some of the District's purchases may be made with federal grant dollars, which may impose additional requirements than state law. The District strives to have a procurement process that complies with Federal regulations and standards for acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward pursuant to 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.318 et. seq. Depending on the amount of a bid, offer, or resulting contract, additional federal grant requirements may apply, including, but not limited to, the additional requirements listed below or in attachments to the bid package. To the extent it is determined that a specific purchasing project must comply with additional federal requirements, Bidders and successful offerors agree that they will comply with any such federal requirements.

1. DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION VERIFICATION (required by the District for all bids) a

The District shall solicit offers from, award contracts to, and consent to subcontracts with responsible vendors and/or principals only. The serious nature of debarment and suspension of a potential bidder under federal purchasing rules raises substantial questions about whether vendor is sufficiently "responsible" to be awarded a contract by the District. Moreover, Federal regulations limit the District's ability to enter contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities for projects involving federal funds. See 2 CFR 200.214. Accordingly, the District will consider whether bidders have been suspended or debarred by a federal entity in making awards under this ITB.

The Bidder certifies that the Bidder and/or any corporate affiliate of Bidder, any owner of more than 10% of Bidder's ownership interests, any of Bidder's current officers, any of Bidder's current directors, or any of Bidder's current employees that Bidder reasonably expects to be involved in actually providing goods and/or services to the District in response to this solicitation

("Related Parties") have not been debarred, suspended, or declared ineligible by any agency of the State of Georgia or any agency of the Federal government or as defined in the 2 CFR 200.214

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The Vendor will immediately notify the District if Vendor is debarred or placed on the

Consolidated List of Debarred, Suspended, and Ineligible Vendors by a federal entity.

By submitting a Bid Package, the Bidder is certifying that is has not been debarred, suspended, or has any ineligible or voluntary exclusions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture or any other Federal or State Agency. All responses will be verified. Debarment and Suspension (Executive Orders 12549 and 12689) - A contract award (see 2 CFR 180.220) must not be made to parties listed on the governmentwide exclusions in the System for Award Management (SAМ), in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR part 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR part 1989 Comp., p. 235), "Debarment and Suspension." SAM Exclusions contains the names of parties debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded by agencies, as well as parties declared ineligible under statutory or regulatory authority other than Executive Order 12549.

2. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE CERTIFICATE (Required by the District for all bids)

Per 2 CFR 200 Appendix II Section I - A Lobbying Certification and Disclosure must be completed for all bids $100,000 and over. For consistency among solicitations, the District requires all Bidders to please complete Solicitation Form 4 Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment (31 U.S.C. § 1352) - Vendors that apply or bid for an award exceeding $100,000 must file the required certification. Each tier certifies to the tier above that it will not and has not used Federal appropriated funds to pay any person or organization for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a member of Congress, officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress in connection with obtaining any Federal contract, grant or any other award covered by 31 U.S.C. 1352. Each tier must also disclose any lobbying with non-Federal funds that takes place in connection with obtaining any Federal award. Such disclosures are forwarded from tier to tier up to the non-Federal award.

3. CONTRACT WORK HOURS/SAFETY STANDARDS ACT (for bids over $100,000)

All contracts awarded by a non-Federal entity in excess of $100,000 that involve the employment of mechanics or laborers must include a provision for compliance with 40 U.S.C.

3702 and 3704, as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR Part 5). Under 40

U.S.C. 3702 of the Act, each vendor must be required to compute the wages of every mechanic and laborer on the basis of a standard work week of 40 hours. Work in excess of the standard work week is permissible provided that the worker is compensated at a rate of not less than one and a half times the basic rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in the work week.

The requirements of 40 U.S.C. 3704 are applicable to construction work and provide that no laborer or mechanic must be required to work in surroundings or under working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous. These requirements do not apply to the purchases of supplies or materials or articles.

4. RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER A CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT

(Applicable only to "funding agreements" under 37 CFR § 401.2 (a))

If the contract resulting from this solicitation meets the definition of "funding agreement" under 37 CFR § 401.2 (a) and the District or a subrecipient wishes to enter into a contract with a small business firm or nonprofit organization regarding the substitution of parties, assignment or performance of experimental, developmental, or research work under that "funding agreement," the recipient or subrecipient must comply with the requirements of 37 CFR Part 401, "Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms Under Government Grants, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements," and any implementing regulations issued by the awarding agency.

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5. PROCUREMENT OF RECOVERED MATERIALS (2 CFR 200.323) (bids over $10,000)

The District and its Contractors shall seek to comply with section 6002 of the Solid Waste

Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The requirements of Section 6002 include procuring only items designated in guidelines of the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR part 247 that contain the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable, consistent with maintaining a satisfactory level of competition, where the purchase price of the item exceeds $10,000 or the value of the quantity acquired during the preceding fiscal year exceeded $10,000; procuring solid waste management services in a manner that maximizes energy and resource recovery; and establishing an affirmative procurement program for procurement of recovered materials identified in the EPA guidelines.

6. CLEAN AIR/ CLEAN WATER STATEMENT (for bids over $150,000)

The District expects its Contractors for bids over $150,000 to comply with all applicable standards, orders, or requirements issued under Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q) and the

Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387).