7-Bid Invitation Requirements.pdf

B-2615BM

On Demand IT Professional Services

Invitation & Requirements

Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) is soliciting competitive sealed bids from qualified suppliers for the services of On Demand IT Professional Services. GCPS is the largest school system in Georgia with over 140 schools and enrollment of over 182,000 students.

Communication Individuals, firms, and businesses seeking an award of a Gwinnett County Public Schools contract may not initiate or continue any verbal or written communications regarding a solicitation. Bid submissions will be received digitally until April 13, 2026 at 9:00AM EST, through Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) located at https://gwinnett.bonfirehub.com or by visiting the GCPS Purchasing website at https://www.gcpsk12.org. A list of submitting firms will be available the following business day on our website. All communications concerning the Bid must be submitted in writing to the Gwinnett County Public School’s Purchasing Department via Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) under the “Message Center” section of the bid. No response other than written communication by the Purchasing Department will be binding upon Gwinnett County Public Schools. Violations will be reviewed by the Purchasing Director. If determined that such communication has compromised the competitive process, the offer submitted by the individual, firm, or business may be disqualified from consideration for award. The Purchasing Department, in its discretion, may call upon user departments for clarification in their area of expertise. All questions or commentary must be received in Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) under the “Message Center” section no later than April 6, 2026 at 9:00AM EST to allow for appropriate and timely responses.

Term The term of this contract is effective July 1, 2026, or upon award, through June 30, 2027. GCPS reserves the right to renew this contract for a maximum of four (4) additional one-year periods for a total potential term length of five (5) years with the approval of the Gwinnett County Board of Education. Renewals will be approved in one-year increments. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. Section 50-5-64, this contract shall not be deemed to create a debt of The Board for the payment of any sum beyond the fiscal year of execution or, in the event of a renewal, beyond the fiscal year of such renewal.

Award will be made to the supplier(s) submitting the lowest responsive and responsible bid. GCPS reserves the right to reject any or all bids to waive technicalities, and to make an award deemed in its best interest.

Bids may be split or awarded in entirety. GCPS reserves the option to negotiate terms, conditions, and pricing with the lowest responsive, responsible bidder(s) at its discretion. All companies submitting a bid will be notified in writing of award.

Approximate Quantities

• This is a demand usage contract. This will be a ‘DEMAND USAGE CONTRACT” WHERE SERVICES ARE BASED ON NEEDS-GCPS makes no guarantees with respect to the amount or volume of business under any resulting contract.

Cost It is GCPS’s expectation that your firm submits its best pricing at the time of the solicitation. The District understands that external factors may impact your firm’s ability to hold pricing for the term of the contract. GCPS reserves the right to review and accept or deny requests for price changes due to extenuating circumstances in the economy, marketplace, or acts of God. This option will only be exercised if it is deemed in the District's best interest.

o The supplier may request an adjustment in the unit prices/total cost in the event of a cost escalation of the unit price/total cost if such items/materials are subject to circumstances in the economy, marketplace, or acts of God or materially impacted by a tariff that arises after the supplier’s response was submitted to http://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/24587

GCPS. The existence and timing of such unit prices/total cost escalation must be fully documented by the supplier and shall be subject to the following conditions:

o The supplier must provide written notice to GCPS of any anticipated cost escalation within ten (10) days of becoming aware of such escalation;

o The supplier must submit detailed documentation, including supplier quotes or other evidence reasonably acceptable to GCPS, to substantiate the increased costs;

o GCPS shall have the right to verify the cost escalation through independent means;

o Any adjustment to unit prices/total cost shall be limited to the actual increase in costs incurred by the supplier and shall not include any additional overhead, profit or fee; and o The supplier shall undertake all reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact of price/cost escalations, including, without limitation, seeking and/or proposing alternative suppliers or materials where feasible and ordering materials in advance.

o In such case, GCPS and the supplier shall negotiate in good faith to agree on the appropriate adjustment to the unit prices/total cost. If after execution of the price/cost Amendment a tariff or other market condition is subsequently reduced or removed or prices of impacted materials are reduced, supplier must provide written notice to GCPS within ten (10) days of supplier becoming aware of such removal or reduction. GCPS and the supplier shall then negotiate in good faith to agree on the appropriate reduction to the prices/cost, which shall be formalized through a revised award letter in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

Addenda & Opening of Proposals/Bids It is the ultimate responsibility of the supplier to ensure that they have all applicable addenda prior to submitting a response. Addenda will be posted on Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire): www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com or by visiting the GCPS Purchasing website at https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities.

The opening of solicitations will be conducted electronically through Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire). Only the names of the submitting companies will be made publicly available by the close of business the following business day on our website. To view the list of respondents, suppliers must log-into Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) located at www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com or by visiting the GCPS Purchasing website at https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities.

Bid Requirements:

**Note-On the Questionnaire, there are Three question sets to be filled out.

• Question Set 1 is the hourly Low and High pricing for the Roles & Descriptions. Please submit pricing only for the roles applicable to your firm. Completion of all roles is not required. If your specific role is not listed, you can enter that role in the comments section with the applicable price ranges (low & high).

• This is a required document with your submission.

NOTE: Gwinnett County Public Schools requires pricing to remain firm for the duration of the initial term of the contract. Failure to hold firm pricing for the initial term of the contract may be sufficient cause for Gwinnett County Public Schools to declare bid non-responsive.

http://www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com/ https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities http://www.gwinnett.bonfirehub.com/ https://www.gcpsk12.org/about-us/divisions-and-teams/business-and-finance/bids-purchasing-opportunities

Successful service provider(s) will be expected to sign a Statement of Work (SOW) for professional services developed by Gwinnett County Public Schools. If execution of this contract with the selected service provider is unsuccessful, GCPS will negotiate with the second ranked service provider and so on until satisfactory agreement has been reached.

Successful service provider(s) are required within 24 hours of having a Contractor onsite at any GCPS location to provide the following:

• Certificate of Insurance as specified in solicitation document

• Properly executed Statement of Work; and

• Completed E-Verify forms

Failure to provide the above documents within the specified time allotted, may be just cause for the annulment of award.

After six (6) consecutive months of successful placement with GCPS, the contractor will be allowed to apply for direct employment with GCPS without a non-compete penalty.

General Provisions

1. GCPS will require the service provider(s) to conduct criminal background checks on applicants for all positions prior to being on-site in any school or district office. GCPS requires that all Contractors be verified as legally eligible to work in the United States through the Department of Homeland Security. This documentation is required in addition to completion of the I-9 form. GCPS reserves the right to release any Contractor with an unfavorable background. GCPS will provide the service provider a list of all positions to include working title, summary, physical demands and minimum requirements.

2. GCPS does not currently provide sponsorship for employment visas.

3. Service provider(s) should provide GCPS, in their response, a total of three references. The references must be completed under the required section in Euna Procurement (formerly Bonfire) on the form that is provided.

References shall be of businesses the service provider has provided services for of a similar size and scope.

References should include the following: company name, address, contact information, company representative, number of employees supplied, and type of jobs filled. All information provided should be current and verifiable.

4. Service provider(s) shall also indicate how long it has been in business, how long in the Atlanta market and how long it has dealt with this type of professional services positions.

5. Service provider(s) shall specify, within their response, the level of service offered by their agency. Inclusive in this shall be the level at which the account representative is within the service provider's organizational structure, the level of attention the service provider is able to provide on this account and the manner in which the service provider is prepared to deal with problems that may arise. The service provider shall also provide the address of each service provider’s locations that will be involved in providing the services requested, and the number of service provider's employees who will be involved.

6. As an equal opportunity employer and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), GCPS may provide reasonable accommodations to permit a qualified applicant with a disability to enjoy the privileges of employment equal to those employees without disabilities. Disabled individuals must satisfy job requirements for educational background, employment experience, skills and any other qualification standards that are job related and must be able to perform those tasks that are essential to the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Requirements A request for contractor with detailed information on the scope of work and the schedule for the desired contractor shall be emailed by GCPS to the selected supplier.

• Service provider shall provide acceptable, qualified, and skilled contractor(s) to GCPS. The service provider shall receive appropriate job summaries. The service provider will discuss the duties and skills indicated in the job summary with each prospective employee.

• GCPS reserves the right to secure services from multiple agencies based on need and availability.

• Multiple contractors can be provided by the same service provider.

• Provider must have the ability to comply with GCPS procedures for approving and scheduling, including use of GCPS forms and other databases that can be used to streamline communication.

• GCPS requires that complaints be acknowledged within 24 hours and resolved within 72 hours.

• Supplier shall provide its replacement policy for unacceptable contractors within their proposal response.

Contractors should be replaced within two (2) business days after notification from GCPS or when the Supplier has determined a replacement is necessary.

• GCPS reserves the right to terminate the services of any contractor at any time and for any reason. In such instances, negotiation of payment will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

• Supplier shall warrant and represent that its work under this Contract and that of its Contractors shall be of professional quality and performed with generally accepted industry standards for the respective position.

• Supplier shall provide a local contractor reporting to the GCPS Instructional Support Center (ISC) 437 Old Peachtree Road, Suwanee, GA 30042 (Gwinnett County).

• The projected weekly working hours for full time may be 40 hours per week but will vary according to the specific need. Typical hours are 7:00 am – 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

• Contractor must register in the GCPS Time Management system.

• GCPS observes several breaks and holidays throughout the school year for which contract employees may not be paid by the District. The 2026-2027 Gwinnett County Public School’s scheduled school closings have been listed below.

July 3, 2026 Systemwide Holiday September 7, 2026 Labor Day November 26-27, 2026 Thanksgiving Break December 23, 2026 - January 1, 2027 Winter Break January 18, 2027 MLK Jr Day April 9, 2027 Systemwide Holiday May 31, 2027 Memorial Day June 18, 2027 Juneteenth

• Paycheck Services: The responsibility for distribution and collection of timesheets is the service provider's responsibility. GCPS personnel will verify actual hours worked. Specific details will be discussed with successful service provider(s).

BILLING & PAYMENT

• The service provider will invoice GCPS monthly for the services of the Assigned Employees at agreed-upon rates.

• Approved invoice payments will be made monthly.

• To ensure prompt payment for services, invoices must be provided for all services on the 1st and the 15th of every month and no later than 30 days from the date services were provided.

• Service provider must have the ability to organize invoices as requested to ensure ease of processing per GCPS policies and procedures.

• GCPS must receive a copy of all invoices by Friday of the following week to ensure on time payments are made.

• Payments will be made by Gwinnett County Public Schools.

• The invoice must have an acceptable degree of legibility to enable scanning for electronic document filing by Gwinnett County Public School’s Accounts Payable.

• GCPS will only pay the agreed upon hourly rate as stated in the SOW, and will not pay any additional fees for these services

• GCPS will not pay a fee of any kind for an employee that the service provider provides to the District that the County hires on a full-time, part-time, permanent or limited term basis; nor, shall an employee be extended on the service provider's payroll once the employee is placed GCPS ‘s payroll.

• When GCPS allows for an increase in their pay structure, positions listed in this contract may be eligible for a pay increase. Any increases are contingent upon availability of budget and the required approvals. Any other increases are not allowed.