Schools & Libraries Cyber Security Pilot Program; Form 470-CBR420250538

The Richmond County Board of Education (RCBOE) in Augusta, Georgia, is soliciting sealed bids for a comprehensive, enterprise-grade cybersecurity solution under the E-Rate 2025 federal funding program through Form 470-CBR420250538. The procurement seeks an integrated platform from a single vendor that provides threat detection, prevention, response, and recovery capabilities across the district's digital infrastructure, including ransomware detection, data exfiltration prevention, real-time threat monitoring and blocking, identity threat detection, automated and manual threat hunting, 24/7/365 Security Operation Center (SOC) services with U.S.-based analysts, and incident response and reporting. The solution must support 17,000 Windows devices, 29,000 Chromebooks, 150 MacOS devices, 165 servers, 5 firewalls, multiple network switches, 5,000 public IP addresses, two cloud tenants (Google and Microsoft Azure), and one local Active Directory across 55 schools and four operational departments, while maintaining compliance with K-12 cybersecurity standards including FERPA, CIPA, and Title IVA. Vendors must submit itemized pricing for all components including product costs based on device counts and types, data ingestion and storage, licensing scalability, support and maintenance fees, project implementation, incident response retainer hours, and annual penetration testing costs, along with evidence of company background, relevant K-12 or government agency references, industry-recognized certifications, and compliance documentation. Sealed bids are due by 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, with an anticipated award date of August 19, 2025, and contract execution by August 26, 2025. The contract term is 36 months with potential extensions up to twelve one-month increments, contingent upon E-Rate funding approval and filing of required forms (Form 471, Funding Decision Letter, and Form 486).

The Richmond County School System is tax-exempt, and bid prices must exclude federal and state sales taxes applicable to public school systems in Georgia. A bid bond of at least 5% of the base bid is required, with the successful bidder required to furnish performance and payment bonds equal to 100% of the contract price, along with proof of insurance, E-Verify affidavit, and sex offender acknowledgement form. All bid submissions must include key contact information for project management, engineering, technical support, and escalation. This procurement is subject to E-Rate funding, meaning the United States Access Administration (USAC) must approve funding and the district must decide to proceed based on the Funding Decision Letter. The district reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to award based on the lowest responsible and responsive bidder meeting specifications. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in the solicitation documents, as pricing will be determined through the competitive bid process.