THE PURCHASING DIVISION OF RHEA COUNTY SCHOOLS TENNESSEE WILL RECEIVE
SEALED PROPOSALS FOR THE PROVISION OF E-Rate Eligible Equipment AS SPECIFIED
HEREIN. PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 4pm on February 21, 2012.
LATE PROPOSALS WILL NEITHER BE CONSIDERED NOR RETURNED.
DELIVER PROPOSALS TO:
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NUMBER Rhea E-RATE 3
RHEA COUNTY SCHOOLS PURCHASE AND FINANCE DEPARTMENT
375 CHURCH STREET
DAYTON, TENNESSEE 37321
THE PROPOSAL ENVELOPE MUST SHOW THE PROPOSAL NUMBER, NAME & OPENING
DATE.
SECTION I
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1.1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Rhea County Schools wants requests for additional
information routed to Paul Riggs at 423-775-7812. Questions may be faxed to 423-7757831. Paul Riggs may also be reached at riggsp@rheacounty.org.
1.2
ACCEPTANCE: Vendors shall hold their price firm and subject to acceptance by Rhea
County Schools for a period of sixty (60) working days from the date of the proposal
opening, unless otherwise indicated in their proposal.
1.3
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS: Rhea County Schools will not accept alternate proposals
(those not equal to specifications) unless authorized by the Request for Proposals.
1.4
AWARD: Award will be made to the responsive, responsible bidder meeting
specifications, which presents the product that is in the best interest of Rhea County
Schools. Rhea County Schools reserves the right to award this bid on an all-or-none
basis, line item by line item or award to multiple vendors, whichever is in the best interest
of Rhea County Schools. The evaluation criteria are listed in Section 3.23. Rhea County
Schools also reserves the right to not award this bid.
1.5
PROPOSAL DELIVERY: Rhea County Schools requires proposers, when handdelivering proposals, to time date and stamp the envelope before depositing it in the Bid
box. The time clock in the Purchasing Division shall become the official record of time.
Rhea County Schools will not be responsible for any lost or misdirected mail sent by
common carrier. Rhea County Schools shall also not be responsible for proposals
delivered to addresses other than the one listed at the top of this solicitation.
1.6
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Vendors must have read and complied with the "non-conflict
of interest" statement provided in the vendor registration process prior to the opening of
this solicitation.
1.7
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING: Proposers are to indicate whether or not it is
permissible for other governments in Tennessee to purchase these items or services at
the same price. Freight charges can be adjusted to reflect differences in delivery cost.
Indicate any additional delivery charges or minimum orders for purchases by other
entities.
1.8
DECLARATIVE STATEMENT: Any statement or words (i.e.: must, shall, will, etc.) are
declarative statements and the vendor must comply with the condition. Failure to comply
with any such condition may result in the proposal being non-responsive and disqualified.
1.9
DUPLICATE COPIES: Rhea County Schools requires that proposals be submitted by
hand. Proposers should submit one (1) original and two (2) exact copies.
1.10
HOW TO DO BUSINESS: All purchasing for Rhea County Schools is maintained
through the Rhea County Purchase and Finance Department, with all purchases being
approved by the Purchase and Finance Commission. All bids must be received by the
Purchase and Finance Department in paper form before the specified time of delivery.
All late proposals will be disqualified. For specific questions concerning bidding
procedures contact Bill Graham, the Rhea County Director of Finance at 423-775-7803 or
at grahamb@rheacounty.org .
1.11
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: Rhea County Schools’ Purchasing
Division will not accept electronically transmitted proposals. Facsimile submission is
strictly prohibited.
1.12
MULTIPLE PROPOSALS: Rhea County Schools will consider multiple proposals that
meet specifications.
1.13
NEW MATERIAL: Unless specified otherwise in the proposal package, the vendor must
provide new supplies. New, as used in this clause, means previously unused materials.
Material includes but is not limited to, raw material, parts, items, components, and end
products. Vendor submission of other than new materials may be cause for the rejection
of their proposal.
1.14
NON-COLLUSION: Proposers, by submitting a signed response certify that the
accompanying proposal is not the result of, or affected by, any unlawful act of collusion
with any other person or company engaged in the same line of business or commerce, or
any other fraudulent act punishable under Tennessee or United States law.
1.15
POSSESSION OF WEAPONS: All vendors and their employees and their agents are
prohibited from possessing any weapons on Rhea County Schools’ property without prior
written consent from the County. In the case of a vendor whose contract requires
possession of firearms or other weapons to successfully complete their contract, vendor
must provide personnel who are bonded to bear said weaponry.
1.16
PREPARATION COSTS: Rhea County Schools assumes no responsibility for proposal
preparation cost. Rhea County Schools advises proposers to be thorough and complete
in submission of information but elaborate binders and graphics are not necessary.
1.17
PROCESSING TIME FOR PAYMENT: Vendors are advised that a minimum of thirty
days is required to process invoices for payment.
1.18
PROOF OF FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS CAPABILITY: Proposers must, upon request,
furnish satisfactory evidence of their ability to furnish products or services in accordance
with the terms and conditions of these specifications. Rhea County Schools will make the
final determination as to the proposer's ability.
1.19
RECYCLING: Proposals being submitted on paper shall:



Be submitted on recycled paper whenever possible
Not include pages of unnecessary advertising
Be made on both sides of each sheet of paper
1.20
REMANUFACTURED EQUIPMENT: Vendors are advised that remanufactured or
refurbished will not be accepted for this proposal.
1.21
RESTRICTIVE OR AMBIGUOUS SPECIFICATIONS: It is the responsibility of the
prospective proposer to review the entire Request for Proposals (RFP) packet and to
notify the Rhea County Purchase and Finance Department if the specifications are
formulated in a manner that would unnecessarily restrict competition. Any such protest
or question regarding the specifications or bidding procedures must be received in the
Rhea County Purchase and Finance Department not less than five (5) days prior to the
time set for proposal opening. These requirements also apply to specifications that are
ambiguous.
Rhea County Purchase and Finance Department will make any modification deemed
necessary by issuing a written revision and will give written notice to all parties who have
submitted a Letter of Intent to Propose by the stated deadline (five days prior to the time
set for proposal opening).
The Proposer is responsible for clarifying any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, omission,
or other error in the Request for proposals prior to submitting the proposal or it shall be
waived. Unresolved issues will follow the Order of Precedence cited in Section 2.15
below.
1.22
SIGNING OF PROPOSALS: When submitting your proposal, in order to be considered
all proposals must be signed. Please sign the original in blue ink.
1.23
TAXES: Rhea County Schools purchases are not subject to taxation. Tax exemption
certificates will be provided upon request.
1.24
TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT: “Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted
Programs”-“No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national
origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 42
U.S.C. section 2000 et seq.
It is the policy of Rhea County Schools Government that all its services and activities be
administered in conformance with the requirements of Title VI.
1.25
USE OF PROPOSAL FORMS: If included, vendors are to complete the proposal forms
contained in the Request for Proposal package. Failure to complete the proposal forms
may result in proposal rejection.
1.26
VENDOR DEFAULT: Rhea County Schools reserves the right, in case of vendor default,
to procure the articles or services from other sources and hold the defaulting vendor
responsible for any excess costs occasioned thereby. Should vendor default be due to a
failure to perform or because of a request for a price increase, Rhea County Schools
reserves the right to remove the vendor from the County's proposers list for twenty-four
(24) months.
1.27
VENDOR REGISTRATION: Prior to the opening of this proposal, ALL PROPOSERS
must be registered with the Rhea County Purchase and Finance Department. Proposers
must be registered with the Purchasing Division prior to submitting their proposal.
1.28
WAIVING OF INFORMALITIES: Rhea County Schools reserves the right to waive minor
informalities or technicalities when it is in the best interest of Rhea County Schools.