Bicentennial Union High School District #76
Form 470 RFP for 2009

• Basic Maintenance for Internal Connections
• Network Maintenance for School District
• Server maintenance for School District
• Router Maintenance for School District
• Firewall Maintenance for School District

 

Bicentennial Union High School District #76
Request For Proposal (RFP) – BASIC MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT

FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

The District requires basic maintenance and technical support for the District’s LAN and related equipment.  Basic maintenance includes such tasks as fixing equipment that is broken, correcting network operating software problems such as corrupted configurations, configuring software for moves, adds and changes, and basic preventive maintenance for both hardware and software, such as software defragging and updating..  These basic maintenance service areas presuppose that the maintained equipment is eligible, or apportioned thereof.  The District allocates eligible percentage of equipment and its components and /or its use according to FCC/SLD Erate requirements.

The District is interested to receive proposals based on two pricing alternatives: (1) Option A: Staff Augmentation (time and materials) and (2) Option B: Managed services (service level agreements).  Respondents may submit proposals for either option or both.  However, mark clearly all elements, sections, costs for each option.

Currently the district has 4 servers, 1 router, and 7 switches.  Include the cost of maintaining all existing District servers and components.

Bidders must be prepared to demonstrate capabilities during the evaluation period to the BUHS selection committee.

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

Bids should be delivered in a sealed envelope plainly marked BASIC MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT.  Addressed to the attention of:
            Sherry Kindel,   Business Manager
            Bicentennial Union High School District #76
            PO Box 519
            Salome, AZ  85348

Bids will be received until 4:00 p.m. January 3, 2009. 

Bids must include a written statement that “the bid is firm and will not be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days”.

Each bidder may submit suggested changes in the specifications.  These proposed changes must be submitted separately in writing, must include the cost, and must include a listing of specifications for the proposed changes.

With respect to the above products and services, for which competitive bids are sought, the Owner will evaluate proposals from qualified vendors, taking into consideration the following factors, to the extent allowed by regulations of Arizona Department of Education and the Schools and Libraries Division:

• Cost (one-time as well as recurring)
• Minimization of service disruptions
• Compatibility with overall solution including existing infrastructure and equipment
• Performance characteristics, including speed and reliability
• Vendor track record
• Vendor financial stability
• Flexibility to adapt to site changes or modernization activities
• Realism of estimates and soundness of technical approach
• Quality of the proposal document including adequate detail for Item 21 Attachment
• Familiarity of vendor with the original equipment installation, and/or vendor service certifications, with bedding on basic maintenance of eligible equipment
• Completeness of solution (single vendor contract to provide multiple, eligible services preferred).

Cost is required to be the primary criterion; but these other factors will also be taken into consideration.

To respond to this RFP, vendors must be qualified E-Rate service providers, prepared to submit separate invoices to the appropriate agency of the U.S. government, this necessary to recoup government-approved discounts to the applicant. The Service Provider Invoicing mode will be required, whereby an invoice for the bill is presented to and paid for by the billed entity applicant.

The bid offer acknowledges the right of the School District (“Owner”) to accept of reject any or all bids and to waive any informality in any bid received.  It declares that the bid is in all respects fair and without collusion or fraud, and that no member of the school board or officer of the school district, or any person employed by the district, is directly or indirectly interested ion the bid, or in any portion of the profits that might result from the bid.

The Owner reserves the right to reject any bid if an investigation of the bidder fails to satisfy the Owner that such bidder is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract.  Awarded contracts must be signed by winning bidder no later than February 3, 2007

Award of this proposal is contingent upon the approval of funding from the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Program.  Bicentennial Union High School District #76 and the successful bidder will act in a reasonable manner and comply with any Schools and Libraries Universal Service Fund Program requirements as described under Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 C.F.R. #254, and any completive bidding requirements in 47 C.F.R. #54.504.

Any questions or explanations in regard to the above matters should be directed to:
            Beverly Cochrain, Technology Specialist – 928-859-4777, bcochrain@salomehs.org
            Sherry Kindel, Business Manager – 928-859-4764, businessoffice@salomehs.org

PRICING REQUIREMENT

Bidders must separate all eligible and ineligible costs as they are delineated under Erate regulations.  It is recommended that vendors consult the SLD Website for eligibility lists pertinent to the Internal Connections category and the relevant eligibility conditions (www.sl.universalservice.org).  Any ineligible service costs, e.g. monitoring bandwidth usage, must be delineated clearly with separate line-item pricing.  The District will evaluate the proposal’s responsiveness and cost efficacy exclusive of the ineligible features.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

            Option A:  Staff Augmentation.

• Acts as contact to Department Director for the purpose of communicating all required repairs/services.
• Assists other personnel as may be required for the purpose of supporting them in the completion of their work activities
• Provide support and maintenance of all servers in the district.
• Installs new computer hardware and software for the purpose of maintaining high quality equipment at the District level.
• Maintains the software on the servers as well as various software upgrades and patches as necessary.
• Maintain the utmost security of the network for the protection of the students and staff.
• Maintain, monitor and support the internet systems to provide security and filtering for the district.
• Maintains all server related technology/computer equipment and performs routing backups of the campus servers, network edge equipment and cabling for the purpose of preventative maintenance
• Troubleshoots hardware and performs minor hardware repair and upgrades including adding memory, replacing disk drives and hard drives for the purpose of maintaining high quality equipment at the District level.
• Troubleshoots system hardware for the purpose of preventing and maintaining system and extension conflicts.
• Assists the Media specialist in providing appropriate materials to students and staff.
• Keep a log of activities.

 

Minimal Requirements
            Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

• SKILLS are required to perform multiple highly complex technical tasks with a frequent need to upgrade skills due to changing job conditions.  Specific skills required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: utilizing equipment used in profession and utilizing standard office equipment
• KNOWLEDGE is required to perform basic math; read technical information, compose a variety of documents and/or facilitate group discussions; and solve practical problems.  Specific knowledge required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job includes: pertinent codes, policies, regulations and/or laws.
• ABILITY is required to schedule a significant number of activities; often gather, collate, and/or classify data; and coordinate a significant number of factors in the use of equipment.  Flexibility is required to work with others under a variety of circumstances; analyze data utilizing various processes some of which may be undefined; and operate equipment using standard methods of operation.  Ability is also required to work with a significant diversity of individuals and/or groups; work with data of different types and/or purposes; and utilize job related equipment.  In working with others, problem solving is required to analyze issues, create plans of action and reach solutions; with data it is significant; and with equipment it is moderate.  Specific abilities required to satisfactorily perform the functions of the job include: adhering to safety practices; communicating with diverse groups; meeting deadlines and schedules and planning and managing projects.
• Describe (and demonstrate if requested) tools that may be used to ascertain network connectivity; included the associated cost as.
• List the (estimated) number of staff, estimated hours (weekly, monthly, annually) needed, and the respective hourly cost for each staff type included in the proposal.
• Staff should have a minimum of 5 years experience.
• Valid SPIN Number
• Use Task Description Table format style in proposal.

 

Other Functions and Knowledge

• CAN required, CNE in process
• Knowledge of Microsoft Servers, required. MCSE in process.
• Knowledge of AS400 Servers not required but will be a positive
• Knowledge of Networking Gear not required but will be a positive

 

Option 2: Managed Services. 

In addition to the service costs to provide basic maintenance and technical support services at BUHS, bidders must.

• clearly identify and understandably explain the service(s) to be given,
• provide real-life, sample project plan(s) with associated costs that reflect closely the service proposed to BUHS,
• submit a sample of existing service level agreements with other clients.
• Provides a sample invoice and specifics regarding invoicing processes your firm uses.

Respondents must be prepared, if requested, to demonstrate capabilities to the BUHS selection committee during the evaluation process.

            Managed services costs must include costs for the following:

• Prevent notification
• Problem identification
• Fault isolation
• Problem resolution
• Router configuration database maintenance and IOS upgrades
• Web Portal reporting and tracking (statistics, issues and availability)
• WAN, LAN and Access Point equipment support (work with Data Bandwidth Services provider to insure optimal network uptimes per SLA’s)
• Security Support (Firewall, IDS, IPS, Wireless and QOS). 
• Change management process
• Configuration management
• Ineligible costs for managing the District’s VPN

 




Total costs for Option 1 (annually)                                    $ _________________

Total costs for Option 2 (annually)                        $ _________________

 

Total Erate eligible services (annually)                   $ _________________

Total Erate ineligible services (annually)                $ _________________

Monthly charges (if applicable)                            $ _________________

 

SUBMITTING ORGANIZATION/COMPANY

            Person Submitting Proposal (Contact Person):                                                          
            Company Name:                                                                                                       
            Address:                                                          
            City, State, ZIP:                                               
            Phone Number:                                               FAX Number:                          
            E-mail Address:                                                                       

BID ACCEPTANCE:
Subject to the terms and conditions herein, and any others by reference to additional contracts, invoices, or other documentation, we accept the bids for the services described:

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

Representative for the Board of Education:                                                                          
                                                            Title:                                                                            
                                                            Date:                                                                          




E-Rate Program RFP FY 2009-2010

TASK DESCRIPTION TABLE

Bidder must provide the following information in addition to that task in the Table below:

• submit a sample of existing staff augmentation tracking (documentation) with other clients
• provide a sample invoice and specifics regarding invoicing processes your firm uses for time and materials services.

 

Title, Description or Specific Task(s)	Quantity	Rate/Hr	Hours/Week	Hours/Month	Hours/Year	Total Annual Cost