7-2 - APA 2026-04 Eagle Mountain K-6 Campus - RFSQ Summary.docx

REQUEST FOR STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

Design Professional Services Revised August 26, 2026

This Request for Statement of Qualifications is Being Issued by:

Utah Charter Academies (UCA), Inc.

DBA American Preparatory Academy 12894 S. Pony Express Rd., Suite 600 Draper, UT 84020 Key Dates

UCA Contact Information:

Note: Owner cannot answer any questions or provide any information directly to respondents that is not already included in the RFSQ documents or submitted through Bonfire. All questions or Requests for Information (RFIs) MUST be submitted through and will be answered on Bonfire. Thank you for helping keep this process fair for all respondents.

Note: This is a qualifications-based solicitation. Consistent with the Utah Procurement Code provisions governing design professional services (Utah Code Ann. § 63G-6a, Part 15), this RFSQ does not request, and UCA will not evaluate, a price or cost component. Compensation will be negotiated with the highest-ranked respondent after selection. Do not include fees, rates, or any pricing information in your response.

Note: This solicitation may be closed early and the project awarded to a respondent if they are able to meet the qualifications and timeline, and qualify under the rules for state contracts as defined by Utah state procurement regarding publicly funded projects.

Note: This procurement is being conducted on a prompt schedule to support the project schedule for UCA's Series 2026 bond-financed Eagle Mountain campus. Respondents should be prepared to negotiate and execute a contract promptly following notice of selection.

1. GENERAL

Purpose of Request for Statement of Qualifications (RFSQ) The purpose of this RFSQ is to enter into a contract with a qualified design professional firm to serve as Architect of Record and to provide full architectural and engineering design services for a new K-6 charter school campus in Eagle Mountain, Utah, as described in the Scope of Work that is attached to this strategic sourcing project.

This RFSQ is designed to provide interested respondents with sufficient basic information to submit statements of qualifications meeting the minimum requirements as outlined herein, but is not intended to limit a response's content or exclude any relevant or essential data. Respondents are at liberty and are encouraged to expand upon the requirements to evidence service capability under any agreement.

Issuing Office and Project Name Utah Charter Academies (UCA) is issuing this project, document and all subsequent addenda relating to it. The Project Name for this RFSQ is on the cover sheet and must be referred to on all responses, correspondence, and documentation relating to the RFSQ.

2. BACKGROUND

Utah Charter Academies (UCA) is a non-profit 501c3 providing public education utilizing public funds and doing business as American Preparatory Academy (APA). UCA began operations in 2002 with a single K-9 charter school in Draper, Utah and currently operates seven public charter schools in Utah serving 5,451 students as of October 1, 2025. UCA has been recognized as “Charter School of the Year” in 2010, US News and World Report’s number one college prep school in 2020 & 2021, has several “Best of State” awards and continues to be a leader in public charter schools in Utah.

In February 2026, the Utah State Charter School Board approved UCA to add a campus in Eagle Mountain, Utah. American Preparatory Academy – Eagle Mountain is planned to open in the fall of 2028 as a K-6 campus housing 630 students. UCA has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement dated June 2, 2026, as amended, with Oquirrh Wood Ranch, LLC for the acquisition of approximately eight (8) acres of land in Eagle Mountain, Utah; the acquisition closed on August 25, 2026.

The design, acquisition, construction, equipping and furnishing of the Eagle Mountain campus is being financed in part with the proceeds of Charter School Revenue Bonds, Series 2026, issued by the Utah Charter School Finance Authority. This solicitation was disclosed in the official statement for that financing.

3. SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

Conditions Any contract resulting from this RFSQ must include UCA's standard terms and conditions which will supersede all other terms & conditions in areas of conflict. (Provided in RFSQ documents.)

Scope of Work The RFSQ document package is intended to provide a thorough scope of work from which to respond. It is not intended to stifle the respondent from offering alternate solutions that add value and/or quality to the project. Requirements are for items the owner knows offer desirable benefits and/or features. When proposing alternate solutions include a narrative description for how the alternate meets or exceeds the features and/or value of the specified item.

The School UCA is providing sufficient funds for goods or services that will be provided by the selected respondent.

UCA is providing the scope of work via this RFSQ and will work with the selected respondent on any modifications to the scope of work over the life of the contract.

UCA will provide clear expectations for service levels and feedback on how well those service levels are being met throughout the contract.

UCA will provide appropriate access to the site and to its existing prototype design documentation, survey, geotechnical reporting, and title materials.

UCA will designate an owner's representative as the single point of coordination for the design team.

Respondents (not all-inclusive) Respondents will provide proof of appropriate and current State of Utah licensure to engage in their contracted business activities, including licensure of the architect who will serve as Architect of Record, and maintain such for the duration of the contract, making proof available to UCA upon request.

Respondents utilizing subconsultants will provide proof that the selected subconsultants will hold appropriate and current State of Utah licensure to engage in their contracted business activities and maintain such for the duration of the contract, making proof available to UCA upon request.

Respondent must have on staff, or under subconsultant agreement, at least one professional engineer licensed in the State of Utah who is available to execute a Certificate of Consulting Engineer and related certifications in connection with UCA's Series 2026 bond financing, including a certificate stating the estimated completion date of the project, promptly upon request.

Respondents will provide proof of adequate financial stability to provide their contracted services.

Respondents will provide proof of comprehensive and sufficient insurance coverages, including professional liability (errors and omissions) coverage, so as to protect the respondent and owner throughout the project.

Selected respondent will be knowledgeable of and meet all legal requirements for provision of contracted services to public schools in the State of Utah, including the requirements applicable to obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy from the Utah State Board of Education or other organization/entity, as defined by the State of Utah (e.g. DFCM).

Selected respondent will establish and conduct periodic evaluation meetings with responsible UCA staff.

Selected respondent will comply with all applicable federal, state, local and public school laws, statutes, rules and codes.

Selected respondent will provide a statement that employees working in UCA facilities are legal to work in the United States. Proof of E-Verify use is preferred.

Selected respondent will negotiate a suitable contract with UCA in good faith within three (3) business days of notification of selection. Should the selected respondent fail to execute an agreed upon contract within that period, UCA may withdraw the selection and enter into negotiations with the next highest-ranked respondent.

4. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Responses must be received by the posted due date and time. Responses received after the deadline will be late and ineligible for consideration.

The preferred method of submitting your response is electronically through Bonfire. However, if you choose to submit hard copies, three (3) identical copies of your response must be sealed and received at the APA offices located at the address above, prior to the Response Due Date. Responses dropped off after the posted due date and time will be marked late and will not be opened or considered.

When submitting a response electronically through Bonfire, please allow sufficient time to complete the online forms and upload documents. The solicitation will end at the closing time listed in this RFSQ. If you are in the middle of uploading your response at the closing time, the system will stop the process and your response will not be received by the system.

Electronic responses may require uploading of electronic attachments. Bonfire's site will accept a wide variety of document types as attachments. All documents should be attached as separate files.

Questions All questions must be submitted through Bonfire by the Question / RFI Deadline listed on the cover sheet, and all responses will be provided via Bonfire.

Response Format Respondents should submit their sealed response in the preferred format:

Letter of Introduction: Firm name, contact person, address, telephone number, and a brief introduction to the responding firm, signed by person(s) authorized to bind the firm to their response. Attach resumes of key persons who would be responsible for this project, identifying the Architect of Record and the Utah-licensed professional engineer identified under Section 3.

Executive Summary: Include a one or two-page executive summary briefly describing the response. This summary should highlight the major features of the response. It must indicate any requirements that cannot be met by the respondent. The reader should be able to determine the essence of the response by reading the executive summary. Protected information requests should be identified in this section.

Table of Contents: Should include a list of all sections and appendices in the response and indicate corresponding page numbers, if appropriate.

Qualifications Content: Full details of the respondent's qualifications including but not limited to: firm's ability and approach; narrative of the respondent's assessment of the work to be performed; direct experience with comparable K-6 and public charter school facilities; proposed design schedule and milestones aligned to the dates in the Scope of Work; proposed team, staffing capacity, and subconsultants by discipline; approach to adapting UCA's existing two-story elementary prototype to this site; approach to entitlements and permitting with Eagle Mountain City; methods, procedures and quality control; project management, supervision and reporting structure; and explanations for how all RFSQ and project requirements will be achieved. This should demonstrate the respondent's understanding of the desired overall performance expectations and their capability to meet or exceed them. Clearly indicate any options or alternatives proposed.

Appendices: Attach other information as required by the RFSQ such as references, resumes, financial information and other relevant or useful information.

Certification: Responses must include a signed certification similar to the following: “The statements made in this response are true and correct presentations. If selected, [responding firm] shall negotiate in good faith with the school.”

No Price or Cost Component IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not submit fees, hourly rates, percentages of construction cost, or any other pricing information with your Statement of Qualifications. This solicitation is evaluated on qualifications only. A response that includes a price or cost component may be deemed non-responsive. A Fee Proposal Form is included in the RFSQ documents for use during fee negotiation after selection only; it is not to be submitted with your Statement of Qualifications.

Methods of Submission Electronic – Bonfire will guide you through the steps necessary to attach all of your project related response documents. The system is very user friendly and flexible, and accepts a wide variety of file types.

Hard Copy – Please submit three (3) identical sealed copies of your Statement of Qualifications to the address on the cover sheet. Do not include any pricing envelope or pricing documents.

5. PROTECTED INFORMATION

UCA is primarily funded by public funds for the purpose of providing public education and as such is subject to Utah State laws and procurement rules including the following:

The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), Utah Code Ann., Subsection 63G-2-305, provides in part that the following records are protected if properly classified by a government entity:

(1) trade secrets as defined in Section 13-24-2 if the person submitting the trade secret has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63G-2-309 (Business Confidentiality Claims);

(2) commercial information or non-individual financial information obtained from a person if: (a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair competitive injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the governmental entity to obtain necessary information in the future; (b) the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the public in obtaining access; and (c) the person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63G-2-309;

(3) records the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement proceedings or give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a governmental entity, except that this Subsection (3) does not restrict the right of a person to see bids submitted to or by a governmental entity after bidding has closed.

GRAMA provides that trade secrets, commercial information or non-individual financial information may be protected by submitting a Claim of Business Confidentiality.

To protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, the respondent must: provide a written Claim of Business Confidentiality at the time the information (response) is provided to the school; include a concise statement of reasons supporting the claim of business confidentiality; and submit a separate “redacted” (excluding protected information) copy of the response, clearly marked “Redacted Version.”

A Claim of Business Confidentiality may be appropriate for information such as client lists and non-public financial statements. Service elements may not be protected. An entire response may not be protected under a Claim of Business Confidentiality. The claim of business confidentiality must be submitted with your response on the form available from the Utah Division of Purchasing and General Services.

To ensure the information is protected, the School asks the respondent to clearly identify in the Executive Summary and in the body of the response any specific information for which a respondent claims business confidentiality protection as “PROTECTED”, and to include a redacted copy of the response, clearly marked “Redacted Version.”

Disclosure All materials submitted become the property of UCA. Materials may be evaluated by members of UCA's evaluation committee and others as necessary to properly evaluate responses. Response information is considered proprietary and as such shall be treated as confidential subject to GRAMA requirements. Materials submitted may be returned at UCA's discretion.

Information pertaining to the school obtained by the respondent as a result of participation in this project is confidential and must not be disclosed without written authorization from the school.

Discussions with Respondents (Oral Presentations) An oral presentation by a respondent to clarify a response may be required at the sole discretion of UCA. However, UCA may award a contract based on the initial responses received without discussion with the respondent(s). If oral presentations are required, they will be scheduled after the submission of responses. Oral presentations will be made at the respondent's expense.

6. RFSQ CONDITIONS

An evaluation committee of no fewer than three (3) members will evaluate responses against the weighted criteria below. No price or cost component will be requested or evaluated. Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in the response.

Evaluation Criteria

Detailed sub-criteria and point allocations are set out in the RFSQ Evaluation Score Sheet included in the RFSQ documents.

Selection and Fee Negotiation The evaluation committee will score and rank responses. UCA will then negotiate compensation with the highest-ranked respondent at an amount UCA determines, in writing, to be fair and reasonable. If UCA and the highest-ranked respondent are unable to reach agreement, UCA will formally terminate negotiations in writing and commence negotiations with the next highest-ranked respondent, and so on. Under no circumstances will UCA reopen negotiations with a respondent with whom negotiations have been terminated.

Acceptance of Response UCA reserves the right to accept or reject any or all responses, to waive any informality or irregularity in any response received, and to be the sole judge of the merits of the respective responses received. Issuance of this RFSQ does not obligate UCA to award a contract.

Response Revisions A respondent may modify or withdraw its response at any time prior to the Response Due Date by written notice submitted through Bonfire. Responses may not be modified after the Response Due Date except as expressly requested by UCA during clarification or negotiation.

End of Request for Statement of Qualifications – 26-EM-K6DES