Request for Proposal (RFP) Yearly Lawn Care Services Wayne County Public Schools Date of Issue: July 21, 2026

1. Introduction & Objective Wayne County Public Schools (WCPS) is seeking comprehensive, competitive proposals from qualified, licensed, and insured commercial landscaping and lawn care contractors to provide yearly lawn care services. The objective is to maintain safe, clean, and aesthetically pleasing environments across all district school campuses and administrative facilities. Contractors must have at least ten employees on payroll and hold a pesticide license.

2. Scope of Work The selected contractor will provide full-service lawn maintenance, which includes all labor, equipment, fuel, and materials necessary to perform the following services:

● Mowing: Turf must be mowed to a professional and consistent height appropriate for the grass type and seasonal conditions.

● Weed Eating / String Trimming: Trimming around all obstacles, including fences, signs, trees, walkways, curbs, and building foundations, matching the height of the cut lawn.

● Chemical Application (Weed/Grass Killer): Targeted spraying of post-emergent weed/grass killer in cracks, sidewalks, fence lines, and designated non-turf beds to prevent overgrowth. All chemicals used must comply with state regulations and school district safety policies.

● Hedge Trimming: Trim Hedges (If applicable) twice a year.

Service Volume and Grounds Specifications

● Acreage: Up to 5 acres of maintained grounds per school site, which explicitly includes the Central Services facility grounds. All thirty sites combine to 138.72 acres. A full breakdown of the size of each site is included in Attachment B and a breakdown of the areas to be treated is included in Attachment C.

● Frequency: Up to 30 visits per site, per calendar year, scheduled primarily during the active growing season (typically April through October) or as directed by the WCPS Facilities Department. The contract shall begin on October 1, 2026, and run through September 30, 2027, with an opportunity to renew for an additional two-year period.

3. Contractor Requirements To be considered for evaluation, bidding contractors must meet the following baseline criteria:

● Licensing: Must possess a valid commercial pesticide applicator license issued by the state for chemical weed/grass spraying and any other licensure required by the State of North Carolina to perform the work requested.

● Insurance: Proof of general liability insurance (minimum $1,000,000 per occurrence) and Worker's Compensation insurance.

● Experience: A minimum of three (3) years of experience providing commercial or institutional lawn care services of similar scale.

● Safety: Contractors must ensure all staff wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and operate machinery with strict adherence to school safety protocols, especially when students are present. Contractors and all employees are subject to a Wayne County Board of Education criminal and sex offender registry background check as a condition of the contract.

● Ability to Transport Machinery: Contractors must own and operate their own equipment and machinery and must have the ability to move and remove equipment and machinery from each job site. Contractors will not have the ability to store large equipment or machinery at any property owned by Wayne County Public Schools.

4. Proposal Submission Requirements Interested vendors must submit a proposal containing the following organized sections:

Company Profile

● Brief overview of the company, years in business, and staffing capacity.

● Copy of relevant business licenses and pesticide applicator certificates.

● Proof of 10 or more employees on payroll.

References

● A list of at least three (3) commercial or educational references for whom similar services have been provided within the last three years.

Pricing Structure Please provide pricing using the following table format:

Service Category Cost Per Acre Cost Per Visit (One Visit to all sites)

Total Annual Cost (Assume 30 Visits per site)

Grand Total (All Locations combined)

All bids must be received by Thursday, August 13, 2026, by 12:00 p.m. All bids must be sealed and written. No electronic bids will be accepted. Bids should be sent to or hand-delivered to the Wayne County Central Office, 2001 E. Royall St., Goldsboro, NC 27534, Attn: Dr. Gary Hales. Bidders are solely responsible for submitting timely bids. The Wayne County Board reserves the right to waive any informalities.

5. Evaluation Criteria Wayne County Public Schools will evaluate all submitted proposals based on the following criteria:

● Cost Effectiveness: Total cost of the annual contract and per-visit rates.

● Experience & Qualifications: Demonstrated capability in handling large-scale institutional contracts and proper state certifications.

● References: Proven track record of reliability, quality of work, and punctuality with previous clients.

● Equipment & Capacity: Sufficiency of commercial-grade equipment and workforce to complete visits within scheduled timeframes.

6. Award of Contract

Wayne County Public Schools does not guarantee an award of a contract(s) to any bidder, and it reserves the right to select the firm(s) that it considers to be in the best interest of the District.

Awards of contracts will be made consistent with N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-129 and Wayne County Board of Education policy 6450 Purchase of Services. Award of a contract is contingent upon the approval of funding from the Wayne County Board of Education and the execution of a contract with the Wayne County Board of Education. The District reserves the right to award none, some, or all of the proposal.

The District reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals, to negotiate with any or all responsible submitters, and to waive any informality in the Proposal. Firms submitting proposals shall be responsible for any and all expenses that they may incur in preparing proposals. All bids and bidders are subject to the Wayne County Board of Education Standard Terms and Conditions (Attachment A). All pricing proposals submitted in the Proposal shall be binding for at least sixty days from the date of the bid opening. The undersigned certifies he/she has read, understands, and agrees to all terms, conditions, and requirements of this proposal, and is authorized to contract on behalf of the firm named below. Any contract signed between the awarded Contractor and Wayne County Public Schools is subject to the Wayne County Board of Education Standard Terms and Conditions (Attachment A) that are included with this RFP.

5. Evaluation Criteria