Hanscom AFB Special Arrangements

Added: Jun 30, 2018 3:34 am

DoDEA requires the vendor to be recognition by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Secretary of Education to operate schools, grades PK-8 in the state and to provide the following services:

1)      All necessary labor, services, administration, transportation, supplies and equipment to present a comprehensive educational program equivalent to that provided to students in comparable public school districts in Massachusetts.

2)      Required educational program in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as applicable United States laws and regulations.

3)      Extension/enrichment activities, special education, remedial support, counseling services, intramural and extracurricular activities consistent with federal and state laws/ regulations. 

Assurance that safety and security policies and practices are in place and comply with all federal, state, and DoD policies and practices.

Lincoln School District is the only entity that can meet all of DoDEA’s requirements for the comprehensive PK-8 education services and early intervention services, as well as the broad array of required programs for students at Hanscom AFB.  It has been serving eligible students from Hanscom AFB since 1960.

A school district other than Lincoln desiring to compete for this requirement would have to invest an additional $5-6 million of its own funds to outfit both the elementary school and middle school. These outfitting costs would include curriculum materials, furniture for classrooms, administrators, information center,  cafeteria, and other common areas, computers, printers,  audio-visual equipment, information center materials, kitchen equipment, etc.  Also, the Contractor would need to hire teachers, administrators, and support staff, including personnel to provide transportation, grounds and building maintenance services, and food services, to support PK-8 students as well as to provide early intervention services for identified students.  The size, scope, and initial start-up costs for the Hanscom AFB education services requirement would be a significant, if not impossible, challenge for taxpayer-supported districts or tuition-based private/charter schools to meet at the Hanscom AFB school location in the required timeframe.

DoDEA received no responses to a Request for Information (RFI) posted on the Government-wide Point of Entry (GPE) from November 7-17, 2017. 

Since 1960 Lincoln Public Schools has been serving the students at Hanscom AFB (initially through contracts with the Air Force).  Since 1996, when this requirement was first competed by DoDEA, none of the other nearby local school districts:  New Bedford School District, Bedford, MA; Concord-Carlisle Regional School District, Concord, MA; Lexington School District, Lexington, MA; Sudbury School District, Sudbury, MA; Waltham School District, Waltham, MA; Wayland School District, Wayland, MA have ever previously submitted a proposal for this requirement and none have expressed interest in competing for the current requirement.