Addendum 05 contains additional vendor questions.pdf

Board of Public Education Dr. Kathy Revis, Chairperson

Robert Bridges, Vice Chairperson Beth Campbell Blair Craven Shelia Dale

Amy Lynn Holt Alyssa Norman

414 Fourth Avenue West, Hendersonville, NC 28739-4261 Mark R. Garrett, Superintendent

ADDENDUM 05

ISSUED August 1, 2025

District Phone System Upgrade

RFP 2026-01

This Addendum 05 amends RFP 2026-01 bid package to update information on the following pages:

1. PAGE 5 Under FUNCTIONALITY: Add item 15 See attached page

2. PAGE 7 Under PHONES: Bullet points 3-7, 15-21

3. PAGE 8 Continued Under PHONES: Bullet Points 25-26

4. ADDITION OF ‘ATTACHMENT A’ includes Line information by location

5. See attached Vendor Questions that have been added.

• NOTE: This addendum becomes a part of the bid package and should be completed and attached to your proposal submission. Visit our website to confirm you have all current addenda that have been issued prior to submitting your proposal.

IMPORTANT: It is the offeror's responsibility to assure that all addenda have been reviewed and, if need be, signed and returned. Questions concerning the specifications in this Request for Proposals will be received by email to jdhuchzermeier@hcpsnc.org until Noon on Monday, August 4, 2025. If any modifications to the specifications are necessary, an addendum will be issued no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 7, 2025. Addendum will be posted on the HCPS website under Bid Notifications:

https://www.hendersoncountypublicschoolsnc.org/finance/purchasing/ mailto:jdhuchzermeier@hcpsnc.org https://www.hendersoncountypublicschoolsnc.org/finance/purchasing/ https://www.hendersoncountypublicschoolsnc.org/finance/purchasing/

“It is the policy of the Henderson County Public School System not to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnic origin, sex or disability in its educational programs, activities, or employment policies.”

4. FUNCTIONALITY:

• The scope of work for the phone system functionality shall include the following key components:

1. Multi-Language Auto Attendant: The auto attendant must offer a Spanish-speaking option to serve the community better

2. Automated Holiday and Custom Messaging: Identified departments must be able to switch to automated holiday messages and create custom messages to provide citizens with timely updates and information.

3. Unified Messaging and Voicemail Integration: The phone system must include integrated voicemail with unified messaging, including speech-to-text transcription. Voicemails must be time and date stamped and accessible via phone and email.

4. Intercom/Paging for Emergency Alerts: The system must include intercom and paging capabilities for sending emergency alerts or warning notifications throughout the organization.

5. Remote Call Routing: Remote staff must be able to route calls back to on-site County personnel to ensure smooth communication, regardless of location through mobile app.

6. After-Hours Messaging System: The system must support an after-hours voice messaging setup, including assigning different roles and access levels within the messaging system at the department level. Through desktop app.

7. Time-of-Day Routing: The system must support time-of-day routing, allowing users to direct incoming calls to different numbers based on the time or day of the week.

8. Auto Attendant Functionality: Auto attendants must handle routine information requests, ensuring that staff only handle essential calls.

9. After-Hours Rollover Support: The system must cleanly support call rollover to an external third-party after-hours support team as needed.

10. Conference Calling: The system must support conference calls for onsite and out-of-network participants, ensuring seamless collaboration regardless of location.

11. Call Forwarding: End users must be able to enable call forwarding, which allows them to direct calls to other lines or devices as needed for continuous communication.

12. Analog Device Support: To maintain compatibility with existing infrastructure, the system must support or replace analog dial tones for legacy devices, such as elevator phones that dial 911.

13. Remote Work Capability: The system must allow staff to work remotely from any location with internet connectivity, ensuring uninterrupted communication for remote employees, through mobile app or desktop.

14. Hold Music: The system must provide hold music to keep callers engaged while they wait for an available representative.

15. The system must be capable of delivering voicemail to email.

5. REPORTING:

• The scope of work for the phone system reporting must include the following key components:

1. Call Volume Evaluation: The system must allow Henderson County Public Schools to evaluate call volume and track the number of incoming and outgoing calls.

2. Hunt Group Setup: Individual departments must be able to set up and manage hunt groups within the system, optimizing call distribution among team members.

3. Self-Service Reporting: The system must offer self-service reporting capabilities, allowing departments to generate and run reports without requiring a support call through admin portal.

6. SYSTEM TECHNICAL SOLUTION:

• The scope of work for the phone system technical solution must include the following hardware and software components:

“It is the policy of the Henderson County Public School System not to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnic origin, sex or disability in its educational programs, activities, or employment policies.”

• Provisioning Process: Outline the provisioning process for adding new lines, devices, and users to the system.

• Active Directory Integration: Confirm whether integration with Microsoft Active Directory is available

• Configuration Data Export: Can device and system configuration data be exported? If so, in what format?

9. PHONES:

• Soft Phone Features: Provide a detailed description of available softphone features. If certain features are only available on specific platforms, please indicate which.

• Network and Security Requirements: Describe the network and security requirements for mobile and softphone clients.

• Henderson County Public School will need approximately 150 164 new desk phones. Please include warranty information.

• Of these users approximately 35% are considered “power users” (on the phone most of the day) vs “occasional users”.

• 11 users will be “office administrators” and need access to handle calls for an entire department/location.

• There are 27 30 physical locations for E-911 purposes.

• There are 157 total phone numbers that are being actively used. 105 have individual direct-dial telephone numbers.

• Henderson County Public Schools current Internet Service Provider is MCNC.

• Walt Corbin or Jason Alfrey, Henderson County Public Schools’ Network Engineers, manages the

Router/Firewall connectivity for the locations.

• Office staff will not have access to POE switch for phone connectivity. This will need to go through

Henderson County Public Schools’ Technology Department.

• We do not make international calls.

• We do not have toll-free inbound telephone numbers.

• We do require different models of phones for different departments. (example: we would like 3 choices that must support at least 1Gb pass through). High volume for school receptionist, extremely high volume for Central Office receptionist.

• We do integrate with paging system with overhead speakers.

• Our intercom/paging system manufacturers and models are: Dukane Carehawk CH1000. 2 locations have a

Starcall intercom that may not interface.

• License needed with desk phones: 150 Total license count: 200, 50 of these licenses being for (9) Elevator

ATA’s, (33) Fax ATA’s and (8) Intercom ATA’s.

• Estimate of DIDs to port over 105 (This will be dependent on the solution).

• If new phones must be purchased our preference is Our new phone preference is 153 of the T44w Yealink or equivalent (1Gb phone, Wifi capable, 8-line 1P phone, power cord included, poe capable). We will also need an additional eleven (11) of the T54w Yealink. In addition, we will need 2 EXP 50 sidecars. We will not try to leverage existing phones.

• 50 56 ATA ports are required for intercom interface, elevator and fax.

• 33 38 total fax numbers will need to be ported to an eFax service physical fax machine. Our fax services do require HIPPA compliance.

• We do require onsite services (boots on the ground) for hardware setup, ATAs, desk phones. Potential number of phones and hardware to be deployed by vendor with onsite technicians help 200. 220 Phones and hardware.

• The potential timeframe to start the implementation should begin September 15, 2025 and be finished by November 15, 2025. Delivery and installation will be coordinated by contacting Mr. Jeff Cannon, Assistant Director of Facilities at 828-388-1284.

“It is the policy of the Henderson County Public School System not to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnic origin, sex or disability in its educational programs, activities, or employment policies.”

• Delivery of equipment, installation and all requirements listed in this RFP shall be completed no later than November 15, 2025. Please indicate if this requirement can be met by your company: _____YES _____NO

• The configuration requirements for the Analog are all switched to cloud based. A multi-port device cannot be used in most cases, except for elevators, intercoms and faxs.

• Henderson County Public Schools will require 150 164 physical phones (approximately) and 150 164 mobile apps/soft phones (approximately).

• See School Lines Sheet “ATTACHMENT A”

10. BILLING:

• Billing Structure: Indicate whether billing is based on the number of devices, lines, or users.

• Long Distance Billing: Describe how long-distance calls are billed.

• Local Calls Billing: Explain how local calls are billed.

• Device Maintenance and Repair: Provide details on how maintenance and repairs are handled for desk phones.

FIRM BID: Prices and any other entry submitted on bid form by the Vendor shall be considered firm and not subject to change.

CHANGES TO SCOPE OF WORK: Changes in the scope of work shall only be made by written direction signed by Henderson County Public Schools. No additional cost to the vendor shall be allowed unless accepted in writing by Henderson County Public Schools before the work has begun.

WORKSITE CLEAN UP AND CONDUCT: Vendor shall be responsible for the construction site during the performance of the work. Vendor shall be responsible for any and all damages to persons and property during the performance of work and shall further provide all necessary safety measures and shall fully comply with all federal, state and local laws, building rules, rules and regulations to prevent accidents or injury to persons or property on or about the location of the work.

The area of work shall be cleaned daily by the vendor. Trash receptacles or dumpsters owned by Henderson County Public Schools shall not be utilized by the vendor. All debris and materials shall be properly disposed of off the property when the project is complete.

All employees of the vendor shall, while on Henderson County Public Schools’ property, act in a professional and courteous manner. Also, all employees of the vendor must “sign in” in the main office upon entering the facility and must “sign out” upon leaving the property. While on Henderson County Public School’s property, Vendors shall wear some form of identifications showing the company name or logo, either by identification badge or by clothing (shirts, uniforms, hats) with the company name or logo. NO TOBACCO PRODUCTS, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OR

WEAPONS ARE ALLOWED ON SCHOOL PROPERTY.

EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS: Vendor shall furnish its own equipment and tools used to complete the scope of work.

Equipment and tools shall not be stored on any Henderson County Public School’s property. Henderson County Public Schools is not responsible for any materials, equipment or tools lost or stolen from the site.

HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES: Henderson County Public Schools encourages participation of Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs). “Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs) consist of minority, women and disabled business firms that are at lease fifty-one percent owned and operated by an individual(s) of the

School Names # of Lines Ported # of Handsets # of Fax Lines Elevators Intercoms Total License Annex 1 N/A 1 1 Apple Valley Middle 13 12 1 1 14 Atkinson Elementary 9 8 1 1 10 Bruce Drysdale Elementary 3 2 1 3 Bullington Gardens 1 1 N/A 1 Bus Garage 1 N/A 1 1 Central Office 46 42 4 46 Clear Creek Elementary 3 2 1 3 Dana Elementary 4 2 1 1 4 Early College/Innovative 4 1 2 1 4 East Hendersonville High 4 2 1 1 4 Edneyville Elementary 4 2 1 1 4 ESL Family Center 2 2 N/A 2 Etowah Elementary 4 2 1 1 4 Flat Rock Middle 12 10 2 1 13 Fletcher Elementary 4 2 1 1 4 Glenn Marlow Elementary 9 8 1 1 10 Hendersonville Elementary 3 2 1 3 Hendersonville High 6 2 1 3 6 Hendersonville Middle 11 8 2 1 1 12 Hillandale Elementary 10 9 1 10 Johnson Farm 2 1 1 2 Maintenance 2 N/A 2 2 Mills River Elementary 10 9 1 10 North Hendersonville High 16 15 1 1 17 Rugby Middle 4 2 2 4 Sugarloaf Elementary 7 6 1 1 8 Technology 5 2 3 5 Upward Elementary 9 8 1 1 10 West Hendersonville High 3 2 1 3

Total 212 164 38 10 8 220

ATTACHMENT A

SCHOOL NAME # OF LINES PORTED # OF HEADSETS # OF FAX LINES ELEVATORS INTERCOMS TOTAL LICENSE

VENDOR QUESTIONS

1. It is imperative that we obtain a list of all relevant information on locations and lines, including:

HCS location physical addresses (exact address) Desk phone and ATA count per location List of DID numbers per location Current phone service provider (Telco) per location When can we expect that information to be provided?

ANSWER: SEE ADDENDUM 05 ISSUED 8/1/2025 ATTACHMENT A

Will it be before 8/4/25 (the cutoff date for questions)?

ANSWER: SEE ADDENDUM 05 ISSUED 8/1/2025

2. We need to understand your expectations for the disposal of decommissioned equipment.

Does Henderson Schools want the equipment boxed and returned to HCS for their disposal processor is it the school’s expectations that the new system provider will remove and dispose of the equipment? (The latter will likely increase the proposal cost to some degree).

ANSWER: Vendor will not be responsible for disposal of old equipment

3. Are all Ethernet data drops adequately labeled or will we need to tone & tag lines?

ANSWER: No, tone and tag lines will be needed.

4. In regards to PoE drops – are all PoE enabled data drops adequately labeled/tagged as PoE?

ANSWER: No, labels/tags will be needed.

5. We need to understand your expectations for providing PoE injectors where needed.

At the pre-bid conference, it was mentioned that only 75% of the required desk phone positions that will need PoE already have that function provided by a Cisco switch. That leaves about (40) desk phone locations that will require a PoE injector, which the vendor is expected to supply. Please confirm that number. We need to account for that cost and want to be accurate.

ANSWER: The T44w Yealink and the T54w Yealink come with a cord. No injector is needed.

6. At the pre-bid conference, it was stated that training should take place AFTER the system was installed. This would make more sense as it means we only need conduct training ONE TIME per location and not (2). Having (27) additional training sessions will also mean more interruptions and scheduling challenges and will certainly have a negative cost impact. Please confirm that ONE training session per location AFTER the installation is all that is required.

ANSWER: One in person onsite training at each location will need to be conducted by the vendor after cutover.

7. To do all the necessary work of porting, configuring equipment, installing and testing hardware and training staff at (3-4) locations per week for the entire 8-week period will require that as much pre-work as possible be done BEFORE Sept 12th . We would request that we have access to both administrative and IT personnel for each location during the weeks BEFORE Sept 12th so as to give us ample time to have adequate time for discovery, equipment procurement, and installation planning and scheduling PRIOR to the start of the installations.

Can HCS confirm that access to sites PRIOR to Sept 12 can be accommodated?

ANSWER: The date stated in the RFP is September 15th. Yes, vendor will have availability to Mr. Jeff Cannon, Assistant Director of Facilities and IT personnel prior to September 15th. Per Addendum 01, “Delivery of equipment, installation and all requirements listed in this RFP shall be completed no later than DECEMBER 15, 2025”.