District VoIP and Paging Upgrade

Union County Public Schools in North Carolina is requesting proposals for a complete turnkey cloud-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol system and paging upgrade across approximately 53 schools and district facilities, with proposals due August 11, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and a mandatory pre-bid meeting on July 27, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at Central Academy of Technology of Arts, 600 Brewer Drive, Monroe, North Carolina.

The scope encompasses design, furnishing, installation, configuration, integration, testing, commissioning, and support of a modern communications platform supporting district operations, emergency communications, and future growth. The solution must replace existing Cisco and Nuwave systems while maintaining compatibility with approximately 675 existing DIDs and existing Yealink T34W SIP phones already deployed. Integration with existing Valcom MultiPath and Bogen Nyquist paging systems is required. The platform must deliver E911 compliance, voicemail-to-email delivery, and mass notification capabilities. Vendors must provide certified installers and demonstrate viability of both VoIP and new paging at one site before full implementation. Product literature covering manufacturer information, parts availability, warranty, maintenance schedules, and replacement parts availability is required.

Vendors must be E-Verified and provide Iran Divestment Act Compliance certification and onsite support agreements. The cost proposal must include upfront and recurring costs with per-unit pricing for each of the 53 locations covering school speakers, call buttons, admin phones, devices, turnkey upgrades, software, and VoIP services. Contract term options are month-to-month, three-year, or five-year. The district currently operates with Frontier/Nuwave and Cisco systems and uses MCNC as its internet provider.

Evaluation criteria are cost (40 points), project scope and functionality (30 points), project timeline and implementation (20 points), and vendor experience (10 points). Questions are due July 30, 2026 at 2:00 p.m., with responses posted by August 4, 2026. The contract includes liquidated damages of $100 per day for delays, net 30 payment terms, and minimum $1,000,000 combined single-limit insurance. UCPS reserves the right to award single or multiple awards or reject all proposals.