2026-2027 elementary and secondary literacy novels

School District U-46, located in Illinois and serving over 34,000 students across 57 schools in 11 communities in Chicago's northwest suburbs, is soliciting bids for the procurement of elementary, middle school, and high school English Language Arts required literacy novels for the school years 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029. The procurement encompasses a three-year contract with an option for up to two additional one-year extensions, requiring vendors to supply specified quantities of literacy novels directly to the district's Distribution Center at 1474 Sheldon Drive, Elgin, Illinois by the mandatory delivery deadline of June 12, 2026. Elementary school requirements include three titles: Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls' Rights (1,230 units), Lemonade Wars (2,720 units), and Esperanza Rising (2,530 units); middle school requirements include nine core novels with quantities ranging from 1,730 to 2,580 copies each; and high school requirements include five core novels with total quantities ranging from 1,270 to 1,820 copies each, for a combined total of 7,680 high school novels across the contract period. All pricing submissions must be all-inclusive of delivery, freight, packaging, and handling costs, with no taxes included due to the district's tax-exempt status, and bidders must provide three professional references with similar project experience, one-year warranty information, and proof of adequate insurance coverage including Commercial General Liability ($1,000,000), Workers Compensation ($500,000), Automobile Liability ($1,000,000), and Umbrella/Excess Liability ($10,000,000). Vendor questions must be submitted by March 23, 2026 at 10:30 AM CST with district responses issued by March 26, 2026; all bid submissions must be made exclusively through the Euna Procurement electronic bidding portal by April 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM CST, with public bid opening conducted via Zoom the same date at 11:00 AM Central Time; the Board of Education will review awards on May 4, 2026 with anticipated approval on May 18, 2026. The district reserves the right to award the contract on an item basis to a sole provider or multiple providers at its discretion, to adjust shipping destinations up to ten business days prior to shipment, and to increase or decrease quantities as needed, with contract termination available to the district with thirty days' written notice.

School District U-46 welcomes participation from minority-owned and women-owned businesses and encourages diversity and inclusion in the bidding process, though no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on respondent types are detailed in the solicitation documents. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the available procurement materials, and no existing infrastructure or technology integration requirements are specified. The district does not pay transportation or fuel surcharges and will not consider bids imposing minimum order quantities or dollar amounts, while all non-conforming products may be rejected or returned at the contractor's expense. Payment will be processed in accordance with the Local Government Prompt Payment Act, with approved invoices paid within thirty days of departmental approval. No specific budget range or total award value is disclosed in the solicitation documents, suggesting that pricing will be evaluated competitively based on vendor submissions for the specified quantities across the three-year contract period.