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Request for Proposal RFPBUTTSWAN27, Fiber Optic WAN Service Publication Date: 10/23/26

Proposal Deadline: 12/1/26 at 04:00 PM EST

The Butts County Schools is requesting proposals from qualified service providers for fully managed, lit fiber Wide Area Network service connecting the District's instructional and administrative facilities in Jackson, GA. The District is requesting pricing for a 36-month term.

Key Dates Q&A Deadline: November 21, 2026 at 04:00 PM EST Proposal Deadline: December 01, 2026 at 04:00 PM EST Required Service Start: July 1, 2027

Minimum Vendor Requirements

Prospective service providers must meet the qualifications established in Section 6, including:

• A current, valid and unencumbered E-Rate SPIN and applicable FCC registration

• Required E-Rate service-provider certifications and documentation.

• Compliance with Federal E-Verify requirements.

• Appropriate licensing and authorization to provide the proposed services.

• Adequate existing infrastructure to meet the required service-start date, or a clearly defined, detailed build/lease plan (including rights of way) accompanied by the financial guarantees required by this RFP.

Questions and Communications

All questions must be submitted to rfp@fundingtechnology.com with the subject line:

RFPBUTTSWAN27 Q&A

Only material questions submitted through the defined process will receive a response. Vendors should subscribe to the establishing FCC Form 470 in EPC to receive notification of published Q&A, addenda and other updates. Communications concerning this procurement outside the process established in the RFP may result in scoring deductions or disqualification.

Proposal Submission

Proposals must be submitted electronically to rfp@fundingtechnology.com with the subject line:

RFPBUTTSWAN27 Proposal

Proposals received after the stated deadline will not be evaluated. Complete submission requirements are provided in Section 4.

Evaluation

The District will first review proposals for completeness, responsiveness and vendor qualification. Proposals from qualified vendors meeting the disclosed minimum requirements for their offered award lots will then be evaluated according to the scoring methodology established in Section 5, with E-Rate eligible cost as the most heavily weighted factor.

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project Overview

1.2 District Overview

1.3 Relevant Dates

2. COMMUNICATIONS

2.1 Procurement Communications

2.2 Published Responses & Addenda

2.3 Addenda and EPC Updates

3. TECHNICAL & BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Objectives

3.2 Current Environment

3.3 Service Requirements

3.4 Service Locations

3.5 Pricing and Contract Requirements

3.5.1 Funding and E-Rate

3.5.2 Facility Changes and Partial Termination

3.5.3 Contract Exceptions

3.6 Service Start, Construction and Performance Assurance

3.6.1 Infrastructure Disclosure

3.6.2 Implementation Plan

3.6.3 Commitment to Service Date

3.6.4 Financial and Performance Assurance

4. PROPOSAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Proposal Contents

4.1.1 Executive Summary

4.1.2 Table of Contents

4.1.3 Vendor Information

4.1.4 Technical / Solution Response

4.1.5 RFP Exceptions

4.1.6 Required Forms and Appendices

4.2 Proposal Format

4.3 Pricing Forms

4.4 Submission

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5. EVALUATION & AWARD

5.1 Initial Responsiveness and Qualification Review

5.2 Evaluation Criteria

5.3 Requests for Clarification or Additional Information

5.4 Presentation or Interviews

5.5 Award and Reservation of Rights

6. VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS

6.1 E-Rate and FCC Eligibility

6.2 Financial and Operational Capability

6.3 Licensing, Registration and Legal Compliance

6.4 Required Certifications

6.5 Qualification Determination

7. GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

7.1 Public Records and Proprietary Information

7.2 Conflicts of Interest

7.3 Compliance with Law

7.4 Pricing and Payment

7.5 Proposal Costs

7.6 Proposal Withdrawal

7.7 Right to Reject – Best and Final Offer

7.8 Georgia Multi-Year Contract Requirements

7.9 Contract Documents and Order or Precedence

7.10 Required Service Date and Delay Responsibility

Appendix A Statement of Eligibility and Compliance

Appendix B Contractor Affidavit

Appendix C Certificate of Eligibility

Appendix D Sample Service Agreement

Appendix E References

Attachment A Pricing Forms

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project Overview

The Butts County School District (BCSD or the District) is seeking qualified proposals for fully managed, lit fiber Wide Area

Network (WAN) service connecting the District's instructional and administrative facilities. Specific locations, requested bandwidth and pricing requirements are identified in Attachment A, RFPBUTTSWAN27A.The District will only consider proposals for managed, lit fiber WAN service meeting the technical and business requirements established in this RFP.

The District is requesting service for a 36-month period beginning July 1, 2027.

This procurement will be conducted in accordance with applicable federal and state law, E-Rate program requirements, and applicable procurement policies duly adopted by the Butts County Board of Education. All material requirements applicable to vendor responses are contained in this RFP or will be communicated to all prospective vendors through the formal addenda process.

1.2 District Overview

Butts County Schools is a district in central Georgia. The Board of Education Office is located in Jackson and supports over

3400 students and 186 faculty.

1.3 Relevant Dates

Publication Date: October 23, 2026

Q&A Deadline: November 21, 2026 at 04:00 PM EST

Proposal Deadline: December 01, 2026 at 04:00 PM EST

Required Service Start: July 1, 2027

Any modification to these dates will be communicated through the addenda process described in Section 2.

2. COMMUNICATIONS

2.1 Procurement Communications

Questions must be submitted via email to rfp@fundingtechnology.com with the subject line:

RFPBUTTSWAN27 Q&A

Only material questions that are not already addressed by the RFP will receive a response. Questions submitted through other channels or without the required subject line may not be considered received and may not receive a response.

The District intends for all prospective vendors to have access to the same material procurement information.

2.2 Published Responses & Addenda

The District reserves the right to amend this RFP prior to the proposal deadline.

Material questions and answers, amendments, supplemental information and other procurement updates will be posted to the USAC E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) in association with the establishing FCC Form 470 when applicable.

Prospective vendors are responsible for monitoring and/or subscribing to the establishing FCC Form 470 in EPC for notification of updates.

2.3 Addenda and EPC Updates

No other form of communication regarding this procurement is permitted, including direct communication concerning the

RFP with Butts County Schools board members or staff outside the process established above.

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Failure to adhere to these communication requirements may result in deductions to the Proposal Score and, when material to the integrity of the procurement, may constitute grounds for disqualification.

3. TECHNICAL & BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Objectives

The District is evaluating pricing and service options for wide area fiber connectivity between District facilities. The objective is to provide reliable, secure and cost-effective connectivity in support of the District's instructional and administrative operations.

3.2 Current Environment

The current WAN provides lit fiber connectivity to the facilities identified in RFPBUTTSWAN27A.xlsx. The service currently provides 2Gbps effective throughput between each location and the BoE.

3.3 Service Requirements

Only fully managed, lit fiber WAN service proposals will be considered.

The service should provide a minimum of either 2 Gbps or 5 Gbps effective throughput between each facility and the district’s BoE as described in the pricing attachment. The District is additionally requesting pricing for 10 Gbps connectivity between each facility and the board office.

The District will consider technical designs and architectures that securely and effectively provide or exceed the minimum bandwidth requested for each location, provided that the proposed solution constitutes managed, lit fiber service and otherwise complies with this RFP.

The proposal must include sufficient technical detail to identify:

• Physical and logical connectivity between facilities;

• Underlying network technology;

• Relevant configuration and routing information;

• Service demarcation and handoff at the MDF of each facility;

• Required terminating equipment;

• Management and monitoring responsibilities; and

• Any material technical dependencies or limitations.

As a lit service, the vendor should provide the terminating components compatible with the District’s existing equipment, as well as configuration, ongoing administration and maintenance of such modulating equipment.

Carrier circuits must be managed by the carrier and provide appropriate Quality of Service (QoS).

The service provider must actively monitor the network and notify the District of service disruptions. The District must be notified of identified outages within 30 minutes of discovery.

Support services and network availability must be provided 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, subject to the binding

Service Level Agreement included with the proposal.

If the proposed service utilizes oversubscribed connections, this must be clearly disclosed and technically justified in the response.

All required equipment, installation charges and other costs necessary to provide the proposed service must be clearly identified.

The proposed design, binding Service Level Agreement, service-management approach and required equipment will be considered as part of the evaluation.

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3.4 Service Locations

See the Locations worksheet in Attachment A, RFPBUTTSWAN27A.xlsx, for service locations, requested bandwidth and related information.

3.5 Pricing and Contract Requirements

The District is requesting pricing for an anticipated 36-month service period beginning July 1, 2027 and ending June

30,2030. Pricing must remain consistent with the service term and renewal structure proposed in response to this RFP and must comply with applicable Georgia law and E-Rate requirements.

The District requires the ability to upgrade any single location or multiple locations to a higher service level during the agreement at the applicable prices quoted in the proposal, as well as change service locations based on facility moves.

All costs required to implement and provide the proposed service must be clearly identified, including recurring charges, installation or construction costs, required equipment, applicable taxes and regulatory fees, and any other recurring or non-recurring charges.

The vendor must identify whether proposed pricing includes estimated taxes, Georgia Universal Service Fund charges, Federal Universal Service Fund charges and similar assessments. If such amounts are not included, the vendor must identify the anticipated percentage or other reasonable estimate of the additional charges.

3.5.1 Funding and E-Rate

The District anticipates requesting E-Rate support for eligible services provided under the resulting agreement. E-Rate funding, however, is determined separately for each funding year.

If E-Rate support or other funding anticipated for the services is denied, reduced or otherwise unavailable, the District reserves the right, subject to applicable law and program requirements, to reduce or discontinue affected services, decline continuation of affected services, or elect to continue the services using other legally available funds.

Nothing in this provision requires automatic termination solely because E-Rate support is reduced or unavailable.

3.5.2 Facility Changes and Partial Termination

During the service term, the District may close, consolidate, relocate, sell, replace or substantially change the use of one or more facilities.

The District therefore requires the ability to discontinue service to an individual location or group of locations when the service is no longer reasonably required because of such a facility change, without requiring termination of unaffected services at other District locations.

Unless otherwise specifically identified and accepted in the awarded proposal, the District may discontinue an affected location upon 90 days' written notice.

The vendor must identify in its proposal any:

• Early termination charge;

• Minimum revenue commitment;

• Unrecovered or unamortized construction obligation;

• Facility-specific cancellation charge; or

• Other financial liability that would apply if the District discontinues service to an individual location before the anticipated end of the service period.

Any such liability must be specifically quantified or accompanied by a clearly stated method of calculation. Undisclosed termination charges or minimum-revenue obligations will not be considered part of the vendor's proposal or resulting agreement.

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Where a proposed termination obligation is attributable to vendor-funded construction, the proposal should separately identify the applicable construction amount and the manner in which any remaining liability declines or is amortized over the service period.

Discontinuation of service to one or more locations under this provision will not affect the District’s continued receipt of service at remaining locations.

3.5.3 Contract Exceptions

Any exception to the contract, pricing, funding, facility-change, renewal or termination requirements stated in this RFP must be specifically identified in the vendor's RFP Exceptions section.

Failure to identify an exception may be deemed acceptance of the applicable RFP requirement.

3.6 Service Start, Construction and Performance Assurance

The Required Service Start Date is July 1, 2027. The ability to provide complete, operational service by this date is a material business requirement of this procurement.

3.6.1 Infrastructure Disclosure

Each vendor must clearly identify whether the infrastructure necessary to provide the proposed service:

• Exists and is presently available to serve the District;

• Exists but requires modification, extension, make-ready or additional equipment;

• Will be obtained through a third party or leased facility; or

• Requires new construction.

A vendor may not represent facilities as existing when material construction, permitting, make-ready, acquisition of rights-of-way, third-party arrangements or other deployment activity remains necessary to provide service.

3.6.2 Implementation Plan

Any proposal requiring construction, network extension, third-party facilities or other material implementation activity must include a detailed implementation plan sufficient for the District to evaluate the likelihood of timely service delivery.

At minimum, the plan must identify:

• Major implementation milestones;

• Engineering and design activities;

• Required permits and approvals;

• Rights-of-way or easement requirements, if applicable;

• Pole attachment or make-ready requirements, if applicable;

• Third-party carrier or infrastructure dependencies;

• Construction start and anticipated completion dates;

• Testing and acceptance activities;

• Anticipated ready-for-service date; and

• Material risks that could affect the Required Service Start Date.

The vendor must identify which dependencies are within its direct control and which depend upon third parties.

3.6.3 Commitment to Service Date

Submission of a proposal constitutes the vendor's representation that it has evaluated the implementation requirements associated with its proposed solution and can provide operational service by the Required Service Start Date, subject only to exceptions expressly identified in the proposal.

A general statement that construction schedules are estimated or subject to permitting will not, by itself, relieve the selected provider of responsibility for meeting the committed service date.

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Any material exception to the Required Service Start Date or to the performance-assurance provisions of this RFP must be clearly identified in the vendor's RFP Exceptions section.

3.6.4 Financial and Performance Assurance

A proposal requiring substantial new construction or infrastructure acquisition must demonstrate adequate financial and operational capability to complete implementation within the proposed schedule.

The District may consider, as applicable:

• Existing network assets;

• Demonstrated experience completing comparable builds;

• Construction resources and subcontractor commitments;

• Financial capacity;

• Performance bonds;

• Irrevocable letters of credit;

• Parent-company or corporate guarantees; or

• Other commercially reasonable forms of performance assurance identified in the proposal.

The District may require an agreed form of performance assurance as a condition of award when the selected solution presents material construction or implementation risk.

A vendor unwilling to accept responsibility for provider-caused service-start delays as provided in Section 7 may be deemed non-responsive.

4. PROPOSAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

Vendors should provide a thorough description of the proposed solution and demonstrate compliance with the requirements established in this RFP.

The proposal should provide sufficient information in a clear and concise form to permit evaluation without substantial additional clarification.

All proposals must be signed by a representative legally authorized to bind the vendor.

Whenever practical, information should be summarized using tables, diagrams or other visual representations. Responses should emphasize concise language and information relevant to the services and requirements identified in this RFP.

4.1 Proposal Contents

A proposal should include at least the following sections.

4.1.1 Executive Summary

The Executive Summary should briefly describe the vendor's understanding of the requested service and explain how the proposed solution meets the District's requirements.

It should include the vendor's legal name and address together with contact information for the proposal point of contact and authorized legal representative.

4.1.2 Table of Contents

The Table of Contents should accurately identify the sections and contents of the proposal.

4.1.3 Vendor Information

The proposal should include:

• Company name and legal form;

• Full business address;

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• Accounts receivable contact;

• Account executive or service manager;

• Helpdesk contact;

• Project manager, if applicable;

• Federal Tax ID;

• E-Rate SPIN/498 ID;

• FCC Registration Number; and

• Recent D&B report or comparable information, if applicable.

The proposal should additionally address:

a. Any pending litigation reasonably likely to affect the vendor's ability to provide the proposed services;

b. A brief company history and description of organizational size, mission and service footprint;

c. The vendor's experience serving K-12 clients;

d. References for one to three comparable K-12 clients;

e. Key personnel expected to support implementation and service delivery; and

f. A description of the vendor's qualifications to provide the requested service.

4.1.4 Technical / Solution Response

The Technical / Solution Response should address, as applicable:

a. Detailed service specifications and underlying technology;

b. Network architecture and physical/logical design;

c. Network performance and reliability SLA;

d. Procedures and SLA for identifying, communicating and resolving outages;

e. Support services;

f. Problem severity classifications and associated response times;

g. Historical or typical outage/degradation information when available;

h. Service-change procedures;

i. Installation and implementation plan;

j. Material implementation, construction or schedule risks;

k. Support scope and exclusions, including associated equipment;

l. Network-security practices applicable to transmission of District data; and

m. All information required by Section 3.6 concerning infrastructure, construction and the Required Service Start Date.

4.1.5 RFP Exceptions

Any discrepancy or exception between the requirements of this RFP and the vendor's proposal must be clearly identified.

Silence concerning a material requirement may be interpreted as acceptance of that requirement.

4.1.6 Required Forms and Appendices

The proposal must include, as applicable:

a. Completed Statement of Eligibility and Compliance;

b. Completed Contractor Affidavit / E-Verify documentation;

c. Certificate of Eligibility;

d. Proposed or sample Service Agreement;

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e. Client References and optional supporting financial documentation; and

f. Completed Attachment A pricing file.

4.2 Proposal Format

Proposals and required attachments must be submitted electronically.

A single proposal file is preferred for the narrative response and required forms. Zip files containing multiple documents are acceptable where necessary due to file size or document format.

Pricing information must be submitted separately in the format established in Attachment A.

4.3 Pricing Forms

Pricing must be provided at the line-item level using the pricing attachment, RFPBUTTSWAN27A.xlsx or an .csv export.

Identify recurring charges, billing periods, quantities, one-time charges, taxes, discounts, optional charges and all equipment, installation and other costs required to provide the proposed service. Distinguish included charges from separately priced charges and eligible from ineligible components, with supporting allocation information.

4.4 Submission

All proposals must be submitted to:

rfp@fundingtechnology.com with the subject line:

RFPBUTTSWAN27 Proposal

Proposals submitted through other means will not be considered unless otherwise authorized by written addendum.

Proposals received after the stated proposal deadline will not be evaluated.

5. EVALUATION & AWARD

5.1 Initial Responsiveness and Qualification Review

The District and/or its designated agent will compile and review all responses received by the proposal deadline.

Proposals will initially be reviewed for:

• Timely submission;

• Completeness;

• Compliance with required submission procedures;

• Material conformity with the RFP;

• Required certifications and documentation; and

• Vendor qualification under Section 6.

Proposals meeting the disclosed minimum requirements for an offered award lot may proceed to scored evaluation.

Partial-request offers are permitted only for the separately awardable lots disclosed in Section 5.2; all-or-none lots require their complete stated scope.

5.2 Evaluation Criteria

Qualified proposals meeting the stated requirements will be evaluated according to the following scoring matrix:

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Factor Points

E-Rate Eligible Cost 40

Technical Requirements 15

Administrative Requirements 35

Vendor Qualifications 5

Proposal Quality 5

Total 100

E-Rate Eligible Cost — 40 Points

The eligible pre-discount cost over the stated evaluation period is the highest-weighted factor. Recurring and one-time charges and eligibility allocations will be identified separately. Additional costs, implementation risks and district assessments are evaluated only under the criteria established for this procurement.

Technical Requirements — 15 Points

The Technical Requirements score will consider the technical solution, network design, service levels, reliability, support, management, monitoring and compliance with the technical requirements established in this RFP and any applicable published Q&A or addenda.

Administrative Requirements — 35 Points

The Administrative Requirements score will include consideration of the vendor's ability to meet the District's operational and contractual requirements, including:

• Ability to meet the Required Service Start Date;

• Amount and complexity of required construction;

• Quality and credibility of the implementation schedule;

• Material permitting, make-ready, third-party or right-of-way dependencies;

• Proposed performance assurances;

• Contract terms;

• Upgrade flexibility; and

• Other material implementation or service-delivery risk.

The District will evaluate the reasonably demonstrated risk that the proposed solution may not be operational by the

Required Service Start Date and the protections offered to the District if implementation is delayed.

Vendor Qualifications — 5 Points

The Vendor Qualifications will consider relevant experience, references, demonstrated performance, financial and operational capability and prior experience with Butts County Schools, if applicable.

Proposal Quality — 5 Points

The Proposal Quality will consider completeness, clarity, adherence to response instructions and compliance with the communications and procurement requirements established in this RFP.

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5.3 Requests for Clarification or Additional Information

The District reserves the right to request additional supporting information or clarification necessary to facilitate evaluation and scoring.

Such requests will normally be submitted electronically to the vendor's proposal contact.

Responses must be provided in writing within the timeframe identified by the District, typically within 48 hours.

Clarification may not be used to materially alter a proposal or provide a vendor an unfair opportunity to improve its competitive position after the submission deadline.

5.4 Presentation or Interviews

The District reserves the right to invite one or more vendors to present or clarify the proposed solution to the vendor-selection team.

Participation in such a presentation does not guarantee selection or award.

5.5 Award and Reservation of Rights

The District intends to select the proposal determined to be the most cost-effective and advantageous solution consistent with the evaluation methodology, applicable procurement requirements and E-Rate rules.

The District reserves the right to make an award without further discussion. Vendors should therefore submit their best viable offer in the initial response.

6. VENDOR QUALIFICATIONS

6.1 E-Rate and FCC Eligibility

Service providers must possess a current, valid and unencumbered USAC Service Provider Identification Number

(SPIN/498 ID) and an FCC Registration Number.

Vendors must be eligible to participate as service providers in the E-Rate program and must be able to provide applicable

USAC service-provider documentation, including the most recently required FCC Form 473/SPAC certification, upon request.

6.2 Financial and Operational Capability

Service providers must be financially stable and operationally capable of performing the proposed services for the duration of the agreement.

The District reserves the right to request reasonable documentation of financial capability, which may include:

• Bank references;

• Credit references;

• Accredited credit reports;

• Certificates of insurance; or

• Other documentation relevant to the vendor's ability to perform the proposed agreement.

Where substantial construction or infrastructure acquisition is required, the vendor must also demonstrate the financial and operational capacity required by Section 3.6.

6.3 Licensing, Registration and Legal Compliance

Service providers must be legally authorized to conduct business in the State of Georgia and must maintain all registrations, licenses and authorizations legally required to provide the proposed service.

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Vendors must comply with applicable federal and Georgia requirements, including applicable Federal E-Verify requirements.

6.4 Required Certifications

The proposal must include all required certification documents identified in the appendices, including the signed

Statement of Eligibility and Compliance and applicable Contractor Affidavit / E-Verify documentation.

6.5 Qualification Determination

The District may determine that a vendor is not qualified when material evidence demonstrates that the vendor lacks the legal authority, E-Rate eligibility, financial capability, technical capability or implementation capacity required to perform the proposed agreement.

Failure to satisfy a mandatory qualification expressly identified in this RFP may result in disqualification prior to scored evaluation.

7. GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

7.1 Public Records and Proprietary Information

Proposals and submission artifacts received by Butts County Schools become records of the District and will be handled in accordance with applicable Georgia Open Records requirements.

Any information a vendor considers proprietary or confidential must be specifically identified as such. A proposal may not be designated proprietary or confidential in its entirety solely by blanket designation.

Proposal information will not be publicly released by the District prior to vendor selection except as otherwise required by law.

7.2 Conflicts of Interest

Any relationship between a responding vendor and the Butts County Board of Education, its members or District staff that may constitute or reasonably appear to constitute a conflict of interest must be disclosed with the proposal.

7.3 Compliance with Law

Qualified vendors must comply with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations governing procurement and provision of the proposed services.

7.4 Pricing and Payment

All pricing submitted with a proposal will be considered accurate and will constitute part of the vendor's legally binding offer.

The District reserves the right to request a best and final offer from qualified vendors when permitted by the procurement process.

Payment will occur according to the mutually agreed payment terms of the resulting service agreement and applicable E-

Rate invoicing requirements.

7.5 Proposal Costs

All costs associated with developing and submitting a proposal are the sole responsibility of the vendor.

Under no circumstances will the District reimburse a prospective vendor for proposal preparation, presentations, site visits or other costs associated with participation in the procurement.

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7.6 Proposal Withdrawal

A submitted proposal may be withdrawn prior to the proposal deadline.

A withdrawal request must be made in writing by an authorized representative of the vendor and submitted to the designated RFP email address with the RFP identifier in the subject line.

7.7 Right to Reject – Best and Final Offer

The District reserves the right to reject any or all proposals when doing so is in the best interest of the District, including when a proposal is materially non-responsive or a service provider is determined not to be capable of meeting the requirements of the RFP.

The District also reserves the right, consistent with applicable law and E-Rate requirements, to:

• Request clarification;

• Request a best and final offer;

• Waive immaterial irregularities;

• Make an award without further discussion; or

Withdraw or cancel the RFP without liability to prospective respondents.

7.8 Georgia Multi-Year Contract Requirements

Any resulting multi-year agreement shall be subject to O.C.G.A. §20-2-506.

Notwithstanding the anticipated July 1 through June 30 service periods identified in this RFP, the resulting agreement shall terminate absolutely and without further obligation on the part of the District at the close of the calendar year in which the agreement is executed and at the close of each succeeding calendar year for which it is renewed.

The agreement shall automatically renew for the succeeding calendar year unless the District provides the service provider written notice of non-renewal at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the then-current calendar year.

Such calendar-year renewal is intended solely to satisfy applicable Georgia statutory requirements and does not alter the pricing, service periods, E-Rate funding-year treatment, or anticipated July 1 through June 30 operational service cycle established by the agreement.

The resulting agreement shall identify the total financial obligation of the District attributable to the calendar year in which the agreement is executed and to each subsequent calendar year for which the agreement may be renewed, as required by applicable Georgia law.

The agreement shall terminate immediately and absolutely, without further obligation on the part of the District, if appropriated and otherwise unobligated public funds are no longer legally available to satisfy the District's obligations under the agreement.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to create an obligation or indebtedness of the District beyond the calendar year for which the agreement is then in effect.

7.9 Contract Documents and Order or Precedence

Submission of a proposal constitutes the vendor's acknowledgement of and agreement to the requirements, conditions and terms of this RFP, except for any exception specifically identified in the vendor's proposal and subsequently accepted by the District in writing.

The resulting agreement between the District and the selected vendor shall include, whether physically attached or incorporated by reference:

• The District's RFP;

• Any issued addenda and material published Q&A;

• The vendor's accepted proposal;

• The accepted pricing forms;

• Any District-issued notice of award, purchase order or similar award document; and

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• Any subsequently executed service agreement, service order, master services agreement or other vendor-provided contract document.

A vendor-provided service agreement, service order, master services agreement, online terms or other contractual instrument shall not supersede or materially modify the requirements or protections established through this procurement merely by being included in the vendor's standard contract documentation.

In the event of a conflict among the contract documents, the following order of precedence shall apply unless the District expressly agrees otherwise in a written instrument executed by an authorized representative:

• Applicable federal and Georgia law;

• RFP addenda and written modifications expressly accepted by the District;

• This RFP and its attachments;

• The vendor's accepted proposal and pricing;

• District-issued award or purchase-order documents; and

• Vendor-provided service agreements, service orders, master agreements or standard terms.

Any provision of a vendor-provided agreement that materially conflicts with this RFP shall be effective only if the conflicting provision was specifically identified as an exception in the vendor's proposal and expressly accepted by the

District in writing.

The vendor may not incorporate additional contractual obligations solely through an external website, hyperlink or subsequently supplied standard terms unless those terms were disclosed with the proposal or are subsequently expressly accepted by the District in writing.

7.10 Required Service Date and Delay Responsibility

The selected provider's commitment to provide complete, tested and operational service by July 1, 2027 will be a material term of the resulting agreement.

The selected provider will be responsible for managing the engineering, construction, permitting, make-ready, subcontractor, carrier and other implementation activities necessary to satisfy its committed schedule except to the extent the agreement expressly allocates responsibility otherwise.

The provider must notify the District promptly upon identifying any circumstance reasonably likely to delay the Required

Service Start Date and must provide:

• The reason for the anticipated delay;

• The affected implementation milestones;

• The expected duration;

• Corrective actions being taken; and

• A revised implementation schedule.

Provider-Caused Delay

If service commencement is delayed beyond the Required Service Start Date for reasons attributable to the selected provider, the provider will be responsible for the reasonable, documented incremental costs incurred by the District to maintain equivalent interim connectivity until the contracted service is operational and accepted by the District.

Such costs may include reasonable additional recurring charges, temporary service costs, installation charges or other direct costs that the District would not have incurred had the provider met the Required Service Start Date.

The purpose of this provision is to place the District, to the extent reasonably practicable, in the economic position it would have occupied had the selected provider commenced service as promised and not to impose a punitive assessment.

Excusable Delay

The resulting agreement may provide reasonable relief for delay directly caused by circumstances beyond the provider's reasonable control, provided that:

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• The event could not reasonably have been anticipated or avoided;

• The provider did not cause or materially contribute to the delay;

• The provider provides prompt written notice;

• The provider takes commercially reasonable steps to mitigate the delay; and

• The provider provides documentation reasonably requested by the District.

Normal construction risk, foreseeable permitting requirements, ordinary subcontractor availability and other matters reasonably identifiable during proposal preparation should not automatically constitute excusable delay.

Performance Assurance

Where the selected proposal depends materially upon new construction or infrastructure that is not available at the time of award, the District may require the performance assurance identified in the selected proposal and/or otherwise expressly established through the procurement documents.

Any required security may take the form of a performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit, corporate or parent guarantee, or another mutually accepted instrument consistent with the RFP and applicable procurement requirements.

Extended Delay / Failure to Perform

A material or extended failure to provide service may constitute a breach of the resulting agreement.

In addition to any other contractual remedy, the District may terminate for cause and pursue replacement service when permitted under applicable contract, procurement and E-Rate requirements.

Nothing in this section obligates the District to continue an interim arrangement indefinitely or limits remedies otherwise available to the District under the resulting agreement or applicable law.

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Appendix A Statement of Eligibility and Compliance

I certify that I have read and understand the terms and conditions herein. I further state that I am and/or my company is capable, able to, and will provide the requested products and/or service described herein. I am the owner or agent of the company stated below and am authorized and empowered to contract. By my signature on this RFP response, I/we guarantee and certify that all items included in my bid meet or exceed specifications.

I certify that this bid is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm or person submitting a bid for the same materials, supplies, equipment, or services and is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud. I understand collusive bidding is a violation of State and Federal Law and can result in fines, prison sentences, and civil damage awards. I agree to abide by all conditions of the RFP and certify that I am authorized to sign this bid for the

Service Provider.

SUBMITTED BY_______________________________________ DATE __________________

TITLE___________________________________EMAIL: _____________________________

COMPANY NAME____________________________________________________________

ADDRESS________________________________CITY______________ST_____ZIP________

TELEPHONE NUMBER____________________FAX NUMBER__________________________

COMPANY WEBSITE __________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE _________________________________________________________________

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Appendix B Contractor Affidavit

By executing this affidavit, the undersigned contractor verifies its compliance with O.C.G.A. § 13- 10-91, stating affirmatively that the individual, firm or corporation which is engaged in the physical performance of services on behalf of

Butts County Schools has registered with, is authorized to use and uses the federal work authorization program commonly known as E-Verify, or any subsequent replacement program, in accordance with the applicable provisions and deadlines established in O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91. Furthermore, the undersigned contractor will continue to use the federal work authorization program throughout the contract period and the undersigned contractor will contract for the physical performance of services in satisfaction of such contract only with subcontractors who present an affidavit to the contractor with the information required by O.C.G.A. § 13-10-91(b). Contractor hereby attests that its federal work authorization user identification number and date of authorization are as follows:

(Federal Work Authorization User Identification Number)

(Date of Authorization)

(Organization Name)

I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that the forgoing is true and correct. Executed on

____________, ________ in ________________________(city), and _____(state).

Signature of Authorized Officer or Agent

Name(s) and Title(s) of Authorized Representative(s)

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME ON THIS THE ____ DAY OF __________, ________.

___________________________________ NOTARY PUBLIC

My Commission Expires:______________________

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Appendix C Certificate of Eligibility

(Certificate Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility)

The Butts County Schools is a recipient of Federal monies. As such we require that participating vendors not be debarred, suspended, ineligible or excluded from doing business with the Federal government or any agency thereof.

The prospective participant certifies, by submission of the bid, that neither it, nor its principals, is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or excluded from participation in this transaction by any Federal department or agency.

Organization Name

Name(s) and Title(s) of Authorized Representative(s)

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Appendix D Sample Service Agreement

A sample service agreement must be provided by the prospective Service Provider.

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Appendix E References

References should be for client school districts or else clients with similar requirements and service levels.

School or Company Name _____________________________________________

Description of Service(s) ______________________________________________

Service Start Date __________________________________

Contact Person ____________________________________

Contact Phone _____________________________________

Contact Email ______________________________________

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Attachment A Pricing Forms

Submit the completed RFPBUTTSWAN27A with the proposal, using the proposal deadline and submission instructions stated in this RFP. The pricing information can be exported and submitted as a .csv as well.

For this WAN template, identify physical termination points and the logical gateway for each connection. Identify any ring connections, underlying technology, ownership and responsibility for equipment, maintenance and operations.

The Z-location field is intended to capture the physical termination point of the fiber. A second Z-location (Z2) is provided in cases such a physical ring where each facility is connected to more than one other facility. The X-location identifies the District’s logical gateway. Bids should identify the underlying network technology being proposed.