Y28GA_LibertyCountySchoolSystem_RFP_Category2.pdf

LIBERTY COUNTY SCHOOL

SYSTEM

REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE BIDS

AND PROPOSALS FOR INTERNAL

CONNECTIONS

Direct all inquiries concerning this bid to:

Liberty County School System

Attention: Currie Sutton

MANDATORY

WALKTHROUGH DATE:

February 28, 2025

All questions must be submitted via email no later than 12:00 P.M. ET, March 10, 2025

Please return one (1) digital copy of your response to Ms. Currie Sutton contact for

Liberty County School System.

All responses are due by 2:00 P.M. ET, March 19, 2025.

All bids shall be delivered by the specified time with “LCSS – CAT2” in the email subject line

Email: currieasutton@epicinc.org

Date of E-Rate Service

April 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026

NOTE: Questions concerning the specifications in this Request for Proposals will be received until date and time listed above. ALL QUESTIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING

BY EMAIL TO THE EMAIL ADDRESS LISTED ABOVE. NO QUESTIONS will be received by telephone. Questions received after the date and time listed above will not be considered. It is the OFFEROR’S responsibility to ensure that all addenda have been reviewed and, if need be, signed and returned.

All bids shall be SENT ELECTRONICALLY to: Liberty County School System, c/o Currie

Sutton, currieasutton@epicinc.org . All bids shall be delivered by the specified time with “LCSS

– CAT2” in the email subject line.

mailto:currieasutton@epicinc.org

LIBERTY COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM

©2024 EPIC COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

LIBERTY COUNTY

SCHOOL SYSTEM

REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE

BIDS AND PROPOSALS FOR

INTERNAL CONNECTIONS

Switches

UPS Components

Installation

Additional Items for Category 2

RFP RELEASE DATE:

February 19, 2025

RFP RESPONSE DATE:

March 19, 2025

MANDATORY

WALKTHROUGH DATE:

February 28, 2025

LAST DAY FOR QUESTIONS:

March 10, 2025

Liberty County School System does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, or handicap in employment practices or in administration of any of its educational programs and activities in accordance with applicable federal statutes and regulations.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDER AND GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS…..4

II. BUILDING LOCATIONS…..10

III. DATES AND ACTIVITIES…..11

IV. BID SUBMISSION FORM……12

V. SERVICE DESCRIPTION/PRICING…..13

VI. REFERENCES…..14

VII. E-RATE REQUIREMENTS FOR VENDORS…..15

The Liberty County School System is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors for Internal

Connections for the Schools listed in Section II.

I. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDER AND GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. E-Rate instructions: This bid will be issued at the same time the FCC Form 470 is filed; this bid will remain posted for no less than 28 days. It is the responsibility of the service provider to follow and track updates to the Form 470 within the E-Rate Productivity Center (EPC) a.k.a. The E-Rate Portal, for responses to questions that may be received during the bidding process.

2. Funding will be subject to E-Rate eligibility and District Approval. Any Contract entered into by the

District will be contingent upon E-Rate funding.

3. Proposals must be made in the official name of the firm or individual under which business is conducted

(showing official business address) and must be signed in ink by a person duly authorized to legally bind the person, partnership, company or corporation submitting the proposal.

4. Offerors are to include all applicable requested information and are encouraged to include any additional information they wish to be considered.

5. Lowest Corresponding Price: Per FCC rules, vendors must offer the Lowest Corresponding Price when submitting proposals. Lowest Corresponding Price (LCP) is defined as the lowest price that a service provider charges to nonresidential customers who are similarly situated to a particular E-Rate applicant (school, library, or consortium) for similar services. See 47 CFR, Part 54, Section 54.500(f).

Service providers cannot charge E-Rate applicants a price above the LCP for E-Rate services. See 47

CFR Section 54.511(b). There is a rebuttable presumption that rates offered within the previous 3 years are still compensatory.

6. ALL BIDS ARE DUE not later than 2:00PM Eastern Time, March 19, 2025.

7. All bids shall be SENT ELECTRONICALLY to: Liberty County School System, c/o Currie

Sutton, currieasutton@epicinc.org. All bids shall be delivered by the specified time with

“LCSS – CAT2” in the email subject line.

8. It is a REQUIREMENT THAT BID RESPONSE PRICING BE SUBMITTED ON PRICING

SPREADSHEETS. One EMAIL copy is required for district evaluation. The digital version must include pricing in a spreadsheet format and should be included in your response. No PDF format for pricing sheets should be used for the digital submission. Responsive proposals should provide straightforward, concise information that satisfies the requirements of this RFP. Emphasis should be placed on skills and experience that respond to the needs of the School Board, the requirements of this RFP, and completeness and clarity of content.

9. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information needed by the offeror is included herein. If an offeror finds that the proposal cannot be completed without additional information, if there are any questions for this bid, please direct those to: currieasutton@epicinc.org. All replies to the questions shall be in writing. All questions and written replies will be distributed to all offerors and will be regarded as a part hereof.

10. If there are any questions regarding this RFP please direct those to: currieasutton@epicinc.org. The deadline for questions will be March 10, 2025 at 12:00 pm ET. No questions will be accepted after this time.

11. All entries shall be entered in ink or typewritten and shall remain firm for a period of not less than

(ninety) 90 days. Mistakes may be crossed out and corrections inserted adjacent thereto, and shall be initialed, in ink, by the person signing the proposal.

12. By submission of an offer, you are guaranteeing that all services meet the requirements of the solicitation.

13. When specifications or descriptive papers are submitted with the offer, enter offeror's name and solicitation name.

14. The district reserves the right to ask clarifying questions of Vendors and to request best and final offers upon review of initial proposals.

15. The district reserves the right to select the proposal which it deems most appropriate and is not bound to accept any proposal based solely upon price. Any award resulting from this bid shall be made to the offeror whose proposal is determined to be most advantageous to the district taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth herein.

16. After recording the bids received, the bids will be referred to the appropriate administrative office for tabulation, review, and subsequent negotiations for contracts and recommendations for Board action, if necessary.

17. The intent of the District is to enter into a negotiated procurement prior to acceptance of an offer, therefore, it must be understood that confidentiality and impartiality are of paramount importance.

18. Proposals, amendments thereto or withdrawal requests must be received by the time advertised for proposal opening to be timely filed. It is the vendor's sole responsibility to ensure that these documents are received by the person at the time indicated in the solicitation document.

19. The document that will form the contract shall include the entire solicitation, all amendments, the winning offeror's proposal and the subsequent "Contract Agreement".

20. This solicitation does not commit Liberty County School System to award a contract, to pay any cost incurred in the preparation of a proposal, of to procure or contract for the articles of goods or services.

The owner reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this solicitation, to negotiate its entirety this solicitation if it is in the best interest of the owner to do so.

The offeror shall bare all costs associated with the preparation of the response.

21. All vendors will receive EQUAL CONSIDERATION in the bidding procedures

22. Bids will be awarded to the BIDDER who MEETS SPECIFICATIONS, complies with all

INSTRUCTIONS AND CONDITIONS, and demonstrates product superiority via demonstrations and test runs if required.

23. Ambiguous Offers: Offers, which are uncertain as to terms, delivery, compliance to requirements and/or specifications, may be rejected or otherwise disregarded.

24. Prohibition of Gratuities: Whoever gives or offers to any public official or public employee any compensation including a promise of future employment to influence his action, vote, opinion or judgment as a public official or public employee or such public official solicits or accepts such compensation to influence his action, vote, opinion or judgment shall be subject to the punishment as provided by State law. The provision of this section shall not apply to political contributions unless such contributions are conditioned upon the performance of specific actions of the person accepting such contribution nor shall they prohibit a parent, grandparent or relative for making a gift to child, grandchild or other close relatives for love and affection except as hereinafter provided."

25. Offeror's Qualifications: Offers shall be considered only from offerors who are regularly established in the business called for, and who in the judgment of the district, are financially responsible and able to show evidence of their reliability, ability, experience, and have personnel directly employed or supervised in the manner called for under this contact. The district may make such investigation as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the offeror to perform the work, and the offeror shall furnish to the district all such information and data needed for this request, including a detailed list of the equipment which the offeror proposes to use; and a detailed description of the method proposed for service completion/installation. The district reserves the right to reject any offer if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of such offers demonstrates that the offeror is not properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract and to complete the work contemplated therein. Conditional offers will not be accepted.

26. Explanation to Prospective Offerors: Any prospective Offeror desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in writing soon enough to allow a reply to reach all prospective Offerors before the submission of their offers. Oral explanations or instructions given before the award of the contract will not be binding. Any information given to a prospective Offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all other prospective Offerors as an amendment of the solicitation, if that information is necessary in submitting offers or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective Offeror.

27. Offeror's Responsibility: Each offeror shall fully acquaint himself with conditions relating to the scope, and restrictions attending the execution of the work under the conditions of this proposal.

28. Competition: This solicitation is intended to promote competition. If the language, specifications, terms and conditions, or any combination thereof restricts or limits the requirements in this solicitation to a single source, it shall be the responsibility of the interested vendor to notify the district in writing.

The solicitation may or may not change, but a review of such notification will be made prior to award.

29. Waiver: The owner reserves the right to waive any provisions of this solicitation.

30. State Law Clause: Upon award of a contract under this solicitation, the person, partnership, association, or corporation to whom the award is made, must comply with the laws of the State, which require such person or entity to be authorized and/or licensed to do business in this state, by submission of this signed offer, the Offeror agrees to subject itself to the jurisdiction and process of the courts of the State, as to all matters and disputes arising or to arise under the contract and the performance thereof, including any questions as to the liability of taxes, licenses, or fees levied by the State/County.

31. Accidents: The vendors shall hold the owner harmless from any and all damages and claims that may arise by reason of any negligence on the part of the vendor, his agents, or employees in the performance of this contract, and in case of any action brought therefore against the owner of any of its agents or employees, the vendor shall assume full responsibility for the defense therefore, and upon his failure to do so on the proper notice, the owner reserves the right to defend such motion change all cost thereof to the vendor. The vendor shall take all precautions necessary to protect the public against injury.

32. Affirmative Action: The successful Offeror shall take affirmative action in complying with all Federal, State and County requirements concerning fair employment, employment of the handicapped and concerning the treatment of all employees, without regards of discrimination by reasons of race, color, sex, religion, and or national origin.

33. Force Majeure: Neither the District nor the successful offeror shall be considered to be in default of this Agreement if delays in or failure of performance shall be due to Uncontrollable Forces, the effect of which, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, the non-performing party could not avoid. The term

"Uncontrollable Forces" shall mean any event which results in the prevention or delay of performance by a party of its obligations under this Agreement and which is beyond the reasonable control of the non-performing party. It includes, but is not limited to fire, flood, earthquakes, storms, lightning, epidemic, war, riot, civil disturbance, sabotage, and governmental actions. Neither party shall, however, be excused from performance if nonperformance is due to forces which are preventable, removable, or remediable and which the non-performing party could have, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, prevented, removed, or remedied with reasonable dispatch. The non-performing party shall, within a reasonable time of being prevented or delayed from performance by an uncontrollable force, give written notice to the other party describing the circumstances and uncontrollable forces preventing continued performance of the obligations of this Agreement. If a force majeure event extends for a period in excess of 30 days in the aggregate, either Party may immediately terminate this Agreement upon written notice.

34. Non- Appropriations: Any contract entered into by the owner resulting from this solicitation shall be subject to cancellation without damages of further obligation when funds are not appropriated of otherwise made available to support continuation of performance on a subsequent fiscal period or appropriated year.

35. Assignment: No contract may be assigned, sublet or transferred without written approval of the

Director of Technology.

36. Arbitration: Under no circumstances and with no exception will the Liberty County School System act as arbitrator between the Offeror and any sub-contractor.

37. Change Orders: No oral statement of any person shall modify or otherwise change, or affect the terms, conditions or specifications stated in the resulting contract. All change orders to the contract will be made in writing by the Appointed Contracting Officer.

38. Special Notation: The Purchasing Department is acting under that authority given to it in the District

Procurement Policy to procure contracts. The resulting contract is between the District and the successful offeror. The Purchasing Department bears no liability for any damages that any party may incur in the execution or enforcement of the contract.

39. ALL BIDS MUST BE SIGNED. (See Bid Submission Form). Unsigned bids will not be considered.

An authorized representative of the bidder shall sign all bids before submission. A corporate signature without an individual name is not an acceptable signature.

40. Notice for Taxes, Travel and Living Expenses:

If applicable, all prices/rates quoted must include all taxes (local, state, and federal) as separate line item.

Please provide a complete proposal, avoiding any hidden items, and include any estimates for labor, equipment delivery, licenses, as well as cost-reimbursable items such as travel, and out-of-pocket expenses.

41. SPIN Number: Please include SERVICE PROVIDER INFORMATION NUMBER (SPIN) for e-rate purposes.

42. References: Proposers must provide a minimum of three (3) current references of similar services/solutions they have provided, including contact information. See section VI.

43. Contract Negotiations: The District reserves the right to conduct contract negotiations on details beyond what is specified in this RFP. Additionally, the District may also move to the next highest scoring bidder if contract negotiations aren’t concluded to the District’s satisfaction.

44. Award: Liberty County School System reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to make an award in the best interest of the District.

45. Awarded Vendor: each year, during the renewal process, price drops should be included as part of the renewal process, as applicable, and included in signature documents for renewal.

46. Insurance: RFPs for Services involving the furnishing of labor, materials, and/or equipment, while said Services are being performed the successful vendor must maintain in full effect the following minimum insurance coverage:

i. Workers' Compensation.

ii. Comprehensive public liability in the sum of $100,000 for each person and $300,000 for each accident, including contract liability. Such shall be endorsed with a save harmless clause in favor of the School District, its officers, members, and employees.

iii. Property damage in the amount of $50,000.

iv. Automobile and truck insurance in an amount not less than $300,000 on account of any one accident, and property damage in amount not less than $50,000.

v. If special hazards, such as might result from blasting, represent a possibility, these shall be covered by a rider to the policy or policies in an amount of not less than $50,000.

vi. Prior to the beginning of the Service, etc., to be performed, a certificate of insurance shall be furnished to the School District showing the insurance coverages required above. The

Contractor shall assume full responsibility for loss of life and property, injuries to persons, including all employees of the Contractor or Subcontractors.

47. Responders should be aware of the following reasons for bid response disqualification.

• The School District may reject an erroneous bid after the bid opening if any, some, or all of the following conditions exist: (1) an error was made; (2) the error materially affected the bid; (3) rejection of the bid would not cause a hardship on the district, other than losing an opportunity to receive commodities at a reduced cost; and (4) enforcement of the part of the bid in error would be unconscionable;

• Vendor is on Red Light status with the FCC or is delinquent on a debt to a state or federal government agency or entity;

• Vendor has not been in business for at least 5 years performing the services or furnishing the equipment required in this RFP;

• Vendor does not have an E-Rate SPIN number;

• Vendor has not signed the RFP documentation;

• Vendor has not sent the pricing spreadsheet in their response;

• Vendor cannot provide all equipment and services listed in the RFP unless otherwise noted in this solicitation that separate contracts may be awarded for subsets of equipment and/or services;

• Vendor does not agree to provide discounted billing to the District if requested.

48. Proposal Evaluation: Proposals received on-time will be evaluated based on the E-Rate criteria as outlined below. The following factors will be used in evaluating bid responses; price is weighted higher than any other single factor:

Factor Weight

Price of E-Rate Eligible Service: E-Rate eligible costs: the total cost of ownership for the eligible components of the proposed service. Total cost of ownership takes into account all one-time and recurring costs. This criterion must be the highest weighted per E-Rate program rules. The lowest eligible cost offer receives the greatest number of points.

Technical Sufficiency: How well the offered product will work within the existing network infrastructure, considering proprietary protocols, feature sets, management interfacing, and other technical factors. The most sufficient and compatible offer receives the greatest number of points.

Technical Support: A measure of the ability of school IT staff to effectively operate, manage, and support the offered products. The most supportable offer receives the greatest number of points.

Evidence of prior successful experience is detailed and related to the proposed services; References provide assurance that vendor can deliver the services and/or required products. Prior Experience in a similar K-12 education environment of size and project scope.

Strong and unequivocal evidence that proposing organization’s human, organizational, technical, and professional resources (including Education and E-

Rate expertise) and abilities can support the proposed project, which will meet the full scope of the requirements specified in the RFP in a timely manner.

Other Cost Factors: Including price of ineligible goods and services, price of changing providers, price for breaking contract, contract terms and conditions, interoperability with current networking environment, training, downtime for migration, loss of use or efficiency, etc.

Overall suitability: Appropriateness, acceptability, or in accordance with what is desired or called for within the current and future needs of the District.

Conformance of proposal to instruction for format and contents of proposal and

Quality of Response (A substantially responsive Bid is one that conforms to all the terms, conditions, and specifications of the Bidding Documents without material deviation, reservation, or omission)

Total 100

II. BUILDING LOCATIONS:

ELIGIBLE BUILDING LOCATIONS

Button Gwinnett Elementary

635 Taylor Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Lyman Hall Elementary

1396 Shaw Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

Joseph Martin Elementary

1000 Joseph Martin Drive

Hinesville, Ga 31313

Snelson-Golden Middle School

465 Coates Road

Hinesville, GA 31313

The District reserves the right, through the life of the contract, to remove buildings and services at no additional charges if the configurations of the entities change within the District in response to budgets, population shifts, enrollment changes, Board of Education decisions, and/or circumstances outside the District’s control.

III. DATES AND ACTIVITIES:

1. MANDATORY WALKTHROUGH: February 28, 2025 to begin at 4:00 PM at Lyman Hall

Elementary, 1396 Shaw Road, Hinesville, GA 31313.

2. If there are any questions for this bid, please direct those to: currieasutton@epicinc.org

3. RELEVANT DATES:

Event Date

Release bid to Bidders February 19, 2025

Deadline for bid Questions March 10, 2025, 12:00 pm EST

Mandatory Walkthrough

February 28, 2025 to begin at 4:00 PM at

Lyman Hall Elementary, 1396 Shaw Road, Hinesville, GA 31313

Deadline for Proposal Submission March 19, 2025, 2:00 pm EST

Date of E-Rate Service April 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026

All bids shall be SENT ELECTRONICALLY to: Liberty County School System, c/o Currie

Sutton, currieasutton@epicinc.org . All bids shall be delivered by the specified time with “LCSS

– CAT2” in the email subject line.

IV. BID SUBMISSION FORM1

COMPANY NAME

COMPANY ADDRESS

E-RATE SPIN NUMBER ____________________________________________________

RESPONSIBLE PERSON’S NAME AND AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE*

NAME

I certify that this proposal is made without prior understanding, agreement, or connection with any corporation, firm, or person submitting a proposal for the same services, materials, supplies, or equipment, and is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud. I agree to abide by all conditions of this proposal and certify that I am authorized to sign this proposal for the vendor.

SIGNATURE

DATE: ____________________________________

CONTACT TELEPHONE: ________________________

CONTACT EMAIL: ____________________________

*Signature certifies that the proposed solution and services meet all requirements outlined in the bid and that the vendor will comply with all specified requirements.

1 Please return this page with your company’s response.

V. SERVICE DESCRIPTION/PRICING

PLEASE PROVIDE PRICING FOR THE ITEMS LISTED IN THE SPREADSHEET

Liberty County School System is soliciting bids for Internal Connections consisting of E-Rate eligible

Category Two products and services for the Liberty County School System’s network connections.

The District is requesting pricing for the items listed in the included spreadsheet. The District will accept new products only.

Any equivalent brand products and services, if bid, will be considered by the District.

The district is open to all manufacturers and will accept quotes for any and all equivalent products. Vendor quoted equipment compatibility: Although functionally equivalent equipment may be submitted for consideration, the equipment quoted must be interoperable and compatible with the District’s existing network.

The District reserves the right to increase or decrease the quantity of product and services to be purchased after the pricing proposals are received.

A spreadsheet has been included with this request for proposals in order for all vendors to respond using the same format.

Please include these pricing spreadsheets in your company’s response. NO PDF formats of this spreadsheet will be accepted in the digital submission of your company’s response.

VI. INTERNAL CONNECTIONS REFERENCES2

REFERENCE #1:

NAME OF REFERENCE

CONTACT

PHONE NUMBER

EMAIL ADDRESS

REFERENCE #2:

REFERENCE #3:

2 Please return this page with your company’s response.

VII. E-RATE REQUIREMENTS FOR VENDORS:

Vendors submitting proposals under this RFP must agree to meet the following conditions relating to the E-Rate program and be willing to include such requirements in the Vendor’s contract:

Discounted Bills: Should the District so choose, Vendor must agree to provide discounted bills to District which reflect the net charges due to the District after E-Rate discounts have been reflected (also known as the “non- discount” amount). The Vendor will then invoice USAC using the Form 474 SPI form for the E-

Rate discount amount. Vendor shall be solely responsible for timely filing invoices with USAC.

Accordingly, Vendor understands and agrees that District will NOT be liable to Vendor and Vendor shall have no recourse against the District for any discounted amount that Vendor submits late to USAC for payment, if USAC refuses to pay the invoice due to late filing. Further, Vendor understands and agrees that

District shall not be liable to Vendor and Vendor shall have no recourse against the District for any discounted amount that Vendor submits to USAC for payment if Vendor is at fault for USAC’s refusal to pay. If the District’s actions or failure to act are responsible for the non-payment of the Vendor’s invoice with USAC, the District shall not be liable to Vendor and Vendor shall have no recourse against the District for the amount at issue until both the District and the Vendor have exhausted their administrative remedies of appeal to USAC and/or the FCC.

If Vendor learns of any federal, state or local investigation conducted by any regulatory authority or law enforcement authority that could have an adverse impact on the District’s ability to continue to receive the benefit of E-Rate funding, Vendor must notify the District within 30 calendar days of learning of such investigation. The District reserves the right to cancel the agreement without penalty if the investigation impedes the District’s ability in any way to receive the benefit of E-Rate funding, subject to any investigation of wrongdoing.

Vendor shall maintain all bids, quotes, records, correspondence, receipts, vouchers, delivery information, memoranda and other data relating to Vendor’s services and any subcontractors to the District. All such records shall be retained for 10 years following completion of services and/or installation of equipment, and shall be subject to inspection and audit by the District.

Vendor must maintain and enforce an internal E-Rate audit process that ensures that Vendor complies with all E-Rate program rules and regulations. This process must include the following:

• Where labor is involved, maintaining detailed, signed individual timesheets

• Ensuring that ineligible charges are not submitted to USAC

• Invoicing to USAC that is consistent with the contract and the District’s Form 471.

• Ensuring that services or products are not provided to the District without District’s express written permission or official purchase authorization

• Ensuring that District-approved substitute services or products are prominently noted on invoices submitted to USAC and the District

• When E-Rate eligible services or equipment are allocated or installed in multiple buildings, support for the allocation consistent with the amount and buildings identified in the Form 471

• Documenting that E-Rate funded services were provided within the allowable contract period and program year

• Charging proper FRN(s)

• Ensuring that invoices and USAC forms are submitted to the District in a timely manner

• Ensuring that USAC forms are filled out completely, accurately and on time

• Ensuring that Forms 472 are signed/dated by Vendor’s representative in a timely manner

• Maintaining fixed asset list of E-Rate-supported equipment provided to the District with detailed information for each item (model number, serial number, product description) and made available to the District in electronic format upon project completion