School Furniture and Related Services - Best Value Request for Proposal (RFP)

Pinellas County Schools, serving as the Lead Agency in collaboration with CoreTrust Public Sector, is issuing a Best Value Request for Proposal (RFP) for school furniture and related services to be used by educational institutions, governmental entities, and eligible agencies nationwide. The procurement seeks comprehensive furniture solutions across ten categories including classroom, library, administrative, computer/technology, specialized adaptive, early childhood, flexible learning spaces, cafeteria, outdoor, and performing arts furniture. Respondents must provide detailed pricing through a comprehensive market basket with 1,821 line items, offering both inside delivery and full delivery/installation options. The RFP requires vendors to submit pricing as not-to-exceed rates, fully burdened and inclusive of delivery, installation, design services, and administrative fees. An online pre-proposal conference is scheduled for December 9, 2025, with questions due by December 16, 2025, and answers provided by December 18, 2025. Proposals must be submitted by January 5, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. via the OpenGov Procurement Portal, with an anticipated contract effective date of February 2, 2026. Evaluation criteria will focus on overall best value, considering cost, scope of offerings, delivery and installation services, technical proposal quality, and value-added services.

The contract will have an initial three-year term with two optional one-year renewals, for a maximum aggregate term of five years. While no specific set-aside designations are explicitly mentioned, respondents must comply with prevailing wage requirements and maintain insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $5,000,000 annual aggregate. Suppliers are required to submit a three percent administrative fee to CoreTrust based on total sales and must complete multiple compliance forms, including Florida-specific affidavits and federal contract terms certifications. The contract is valued at approximately $20 million for protest bond calculation purposes, with pricing expected to reflect the respondent's lowest available net pricing to public agencies nationwide. Vendors must provide references demonstrating past performance on public and private sector contracts and commit to matching lower pricing if participating agencies qualify for discounted rates through other cooperative contracts. The contract allows for nationwide participation by eligible organizations, including state and local government entities, school districts, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations.