NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT RFP: SIS
STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM RFP
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR
STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
ISSUED BY
NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
COSTA MESA, CA
SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO:
NMUSD Student Information System RFP
Mrs. Elaine Weber
Newport-Mesa Unified School District
2985 Bear Street
Costa Mesa, CA92626
Phone: (714) 424-7510
Email Address:
Deadline: 9:00AM, February 22, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...... 4
ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION
1.0RFP Schedule6
1.1Contact Information...... 6
1.2Question and Answer Process...... 6
1.3Submission of Proposals...... 7
1.4Late Submissions 7
1.5Proposal Preparation...... 7
1.6Number of Proposals...... 7
1.7Ownership of Materials...... 7
1.8Confidential or Proprietary Information...... 8
1.9Supplier Presentations...... 8
1.10 Proposal Costs...... 8
1.11 Hands-on Testing of Software...... 8
1.12 Evaluation Criteria...... 8
1.13 No Press Releases or Public Disclosure...... 8
1.14 Award Notification...... 8
1.15 Rejection of Proposals...... 9
1.16 Contract Award...... 9
1.17 RFP Amendments...... 9
1.18 Primary Supplier...... 9
1.19 Complete Solutions...... 9
1.20 Offer Expiration Date...... 9
1.21 Post-Award Debriefing...... 9
1.22 Designation of Requirements...... 10
1.23 Exceptions to the RFP...... 10
1.24 Product Use Requirements...... 10
1.25 Proposal Errors...... 10
1.26 NMUSD Service Agreement...... 10
1.27 Alternate Proposal and Options...... 10
1.28 Pricing...... 11
TECHNICAL SECTION
2.0District Network Environment...... 12
MANAGEMENT SECTION
3.0 Project Implementation Start Date...... 12
3.1 Project Plan...... 12
3.2Project Control...... 12
3.3Project Management Tasks and Responsibilities...... 12
3.4Project Meetings...... 12
3.5Supplier Project Management Structure...... 13
3.6Facility Preparation...... 13
3.7Corrections and Enhancements...... 13
3.8Hardware and Software Installation...... 13
3.9Solution Acceptability...... 13
3.10Solution Maintenance...... 13
3.11Personnel Training...... 13
3.12Training Plan...... 13
3.13Training Documentation...... 14
3.14Supplier Comment Request...... 14
3.15Supplier Information...... 14
Appendix ASupplier Information
Appendix BSIS Evaluation Questions (Excel file)
Appendix CNoncollusion Affidavit
Appendix DSchool Information
Appendix EStaff Information
Appendix FTypical NMUSD Service Agreement
Introduction
District Background:
The District, established in 1966, currently operates 8 preschools, 22 elementary schools, 2 intermediate schools, 4 comprehensive high schools, 1 early college high school, 1 middle college high school, 1 continuation high school, 1 independent study high school,2 summer schools, and 1 adult education center (offering classes at 17 locations). Encompassing approximately 59 square miles, the District includes portions of the cities ofNewport Beach and Costa Mesa and unincorporated areas of the County.
The District is governed by a Board of Education and complies with current governmentprocurement practices. The District employs approximately 1,367 certificated and1,309 classified professionals. The District’s 2006-07 annual budget is in excess of $202 millionand K-12 student enrollment is approximately21,378.
Additional information on NMUSD can be found in the appendixes to this RFP; readers may also visit to view the District’s strategic plan, budget, and other information that may be helpful in responding to the RFP.
Mandatory Requirements:
NMUSD seeks a student information system with the following minimum traits or abilities:
- Track multiple years of student data, including but not limited to:
- Demographic
- Grading
- Attendance
- Assessment
- Scheduling
- Health
- Discipline
- Special Education
- Has a web-based teacher portal for entry of attendance and grades. Preferably would also be able to track all student assignments, and gradebook information.
- Has a web-based parent portal to facilitate communication with parents. Minimally, it would show attendance, quarter/semester grades, in-progress (teacher gradebook) grades, and upcoming homework.
- Help teachers and administrators identify at-risk students for timely intervention. Allows maximum flexibility in defining “at-risk” – including special populations, trends in attendance, discipline events, grades, and assessment information.
- Has a built-in report writer for ad-hoc reporting; easy enough for non-technical staff to use.
- Can assist with all standard California and Federal government reporting requirements, including full support for CSIS.
- Is largely web-based
- Provides training and excellent customer support
- Can handle an active student population in excess of 25,000
- Utilizes a centralized database for all schools
- Is actively used by at least one California K-12 school district
- Can provide professional and comprehensive project management to assist with the conversion and implementation.
- Migrate data from existing SASIxp 7.1 installation (DB4 version)
- Minimize manual export/import of student data with other software systems. Ideally, it can exchange data with other products in an automated fashion, and/or incorporate their functionality:
- Nutrition Services – Nutrikids (
- Adult Education – AIM (
- Adult Ed Assessment - TOPSpro (
- Follett Library System (
- Assessment - Datawise (
- Assessment - DataDirector (
- Special Education - Genesea (
- Phone dialers (for attendance & broadcast messages)
Administrative Section
1.0RFPSchedule
The following table lists the activities relevant to the RFP process. NMUSD reserves the right to change these dates and will notify suppliers in that event.
RFP released / 12:00 PM / January 29, 2007
RFP questions deadline / 9:00 AM / February 13, 2007
Proposals due / 9:00 AM / February 22, 2007
Supplier presentation / TBD / March 20-23, 2007
Short list selection / 4:30 PM / March 30, 2007
Hardware/software setup for hands-on testing / April 2-13, 2007
Hands-on testing of software / April 16-27, 2007
Reference site calls/visits / May 7-18, 2007
Supplier selection / May 25, 2007
1.1 Contact Information
After release of the RFP and thereafter, all requests, questions, or other communications about this RFP shall be made in writing to NMUSD. Communications made to other NMUSD personnel will not be allowed or recognized as valid and may disqualify the supplier.
Address all communications to:
Mrs. Elaine Weber
Information Technology Dept.
2985 Bear St, Bldg C
Costa Mesa, CA92626
(714) 424-7510 voice
(714) 424-7524 fax
Suppliers should rely only on written statements on the District’s SIS RFP website ( or issued by the RFP Coordinator:
Mr. Alan Engard
Director, Information Technology Dept
2985Bear St, Bldg C
Costa Mesa, CA92626
1.2 Question and Answer Process
NMUSD will allow written requests for clarification of the RFP. To ensure that written requests are received and answered in a timely manner, e-mail correspondence is welcomed, but other forms of delivery such as postal and courier are acceptable. All questions will be consolidated into a single set of responses and posted on the NMUSD web site ( by 12:00 p.m. each Friday. Suppliers’ names will be removed from the questions in the responses released. Questions should be submitted in the following format. Deviations from this format will not be accepted.
Section number or Appendix
Paragraph or question number
Text of passage being questioned
Question
1.3 Submission of Proposals
Proposals are due on February 22, 2007. Proposal materialswill be accepted electronically via e-mail (7MB maximum), CD, or hardcopy. Responses to the questions in Appendix Bmust be supplied electronically in the Excel file provided. Appendix C (Non-collusion Affidavit) must be a notarized hardcopy. The remainder of the proposal may be hardcopy or electronic (MS Word or PDF formats are the only acceptable formats). Hardcopy proposals must be sealed and not delivered in open packages or binders. Additional proposal materials such as books, CD’s, and other materials should be received with proposals. Hardcopy proposals or supplemental materials should be sent to:
NMUSD Student Information System RFP
Mrs. Elaine Weber, IT Dept
2985 Bear St, Bldg C
Costa Mesa, CA92626
Electronic submission by e-mail should be sent to:
1.4 Late Submissions
Proposals submitted after the closing date will not be accepted. NMUSD is not responsible for late delivery or proposals lost in delivery. Suppliers must notify NMUSD if there is an extenuating circumstance that may prevent on-time delivery. Please refer to the RFP schedule for the due date.
1.5 Proposal Preparation
Proposals should be prepared simply and economically without emphasis on the presentation of the proposal. Expensive bindings, color photographs, and excessive promotional materials such as videos, are neither desired nor needed. NMUSD prefers to receive proposals either electronically or in appropriately sized three ring binders with index tabs to separate sections.
Proposals must be organized as follows:
Cover Page
Complete Table of Contents
Section 1 – Company/Product Introduction
Section 2 – Executive Summary
Section 3 – Project Management Description
Section 4 – Supplier Information (Appendix A)
Section 5 – SIS Evaluation Questions/Answers (Appendix B, Excel file)
Section 6 – Non-collusion Affidavit (Appendix C – must be notarized)
Section 7 – Additional information/documentation as needed (see section 3.6 – Facility Preparation, as a possible example)
1.6 Number of Proposals
Suppliers shall provide two copies of their proposal, if submitting hardcopy; each copy must be clearly marked. If printed supplementary materials are included which are not 8.5x11”, eleven copies should be included. If submitting electronically, one copy is sufficient.
1.7 Ownership of Materials
All materials submitted in response to this RFP become the property of NMUSD. Proposals and supporting materials will not be returned to suppliers.
1.8 Confidential or Proprietary Information
All proposals submitted will be held in confidence. Only personnel directly involved with this RFP will be given copies of your proposals. NMUSD has no obligation to share proposal material with any other party and will respect any documents or materials that suppliers have clearly marked “Confidential” or “Proprietary.” However, only those pages that contain the proprietary information should be so designated, not the complete proposal.
NMUSD is not obligated to maintain the confidentiality of any information that was known prior to receipt of a proposal, or becomes publicly known through no fault of NMUSD or is received without obligation of confidentiality from a third party.
1.9Supplier Presentations
Suppliers who want to be considered will be required to give an oral presentation of their proposal to the RFP team and NMUSD Executive Cabinet. This presentation should concentrate on the functionality and flexibility of the product. This opportunity is given to allow suppliers the chance to further define the primary features and benefits of their proposal, to allow clarification of their proposal and to permit questions from the audience.
Appropriate visual and written materials are expected, but the format is left to the discretion of the supplier. It is strongly recommended Suppliers tailor their presentation to address areas NMUSD has identified as areas of interest in this RFP. Presentations may not exceed 3 hours, inclusive of a question and answer period. Appropriate handouts should be prepared and distributed. There will be no more than 15 NMUSD personnel in attendance.
1.10 Proposal Costs
NMUSD is not responsible for any costs incurred by the supplier in the preparation of the proposal, demonstration, or District’s hands-on testing.
1.11 Hands-on Testing of Software
NMUSD is anticipating testing the short list finalists’ software for an extended period of time (approximately 2 weeks). Installation and configuration of the software, plus limited conversion of existing student data should be accomplished by District staff. All server and workstation hardware will be provided by the District. Supplier will be asked for some technical assistance to get the software installed and operable. NMUSD will consider supplier-suggested alternate methods of accomplishing this detailed testing.
1.12 Evaluation Criteria
NMUSD is interested in obtaining a complete solution to the stated requirements. Proposals that meet the proposal instructions and requirements will be given a thorough and objective review. Proposals that are late, do not comply with proposal instructions, or take exceptions to requirements may be eliminated without further consideration. NMUSD will evaluate proposals based on the responses to the questions in Appendix B, the supplier presentation, and reference calls or visits.
1.13 No Press Releases or Public Disclosure
Suppliers may not release any information about this RFP. The winning supplier may not issue a press release until it has been reviewed and approved by NMUSD.
1.14 Award Notification
NMUSD will make a first cut of suppliers and develop a short list of finalists. Suppliers who are not finalists will be notified in writing at the same time as finalists are notified they are on the short list.
After a final selection is made, the winning supplier will be invited to negotiate a contract with NMUSD; remaining suppliers will be notified in writing of their selection status.
1.15 Rejection of Proposals
NMUSD reserves the right to reject any or all proposals. One copy of each proposal will be kept on file for six months; all other copies will be destroyed along with any collateral materials sent with the proposal.
1.16 Contract Award
NMUSD reserves the right to award the contract according to the evaluation criteria. The supplier chosen for award should be prepared to have the proposal incorporated, along with all other written correspondence concerning this RFP, into the contract. Any false or misleading statements found in the proposal will be grounds for disqualification.
1.17 RFP Amendments
If any supplier is in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the RFP documents, or finds discrepancies in, or omissions from the specifications, a written request for an interpretation or correction thereof may be submitted to the District. The supplier submitting the written request shall be responsible for its prompt delivery. Any interpretation or correction of the RFP document will be made only by an addendum issued by the District. No person is authorized to make any oral interpretation of any provision in the RFP documents, nor shall any oral interpretation be binding on the District. If discrepancies on specifications or conflicts between specification, terms or conditions exist, the interpretation of the District shall prevail.
NMUSD reserves the right to amend this RFP at any time prior to the closing date.
1.18 Primary Supplier
NMUSD expects to negotiate and contract with only one prime supplier. NMUSD will not accept any proposals that reflect an equal teaming arrangement or from suppliers who are co-bidding on this RFP. The prime supplier will be responsible for the management of all subcontractors. NMUSD will not accept any invoices from subcontractors or become part of any negotiations between a prime supplier and a subcontractor.
NMUSD reserves the right to request information about any subcontracting relationship. In the event of a subcontracting arrangement, the prime contractor assumes all responsibility for delivery, installation, maintenance, and any support service including documentation that is supplied by the subcontractor.
Suppliers who bid components for which he/she is not an authorized dealer shall bear the responsibility to ensure that the replacement, service, training, and maintenance of said components shall equal or exceed the original manufacturer or the authorized dealer. Original manufacturer upgrades, fixes, or any other enhancement to that component shall be made available to NMUSD under the same conditions as the original equipment manufacturer or dealer provides.
1.19 Complete Solutions
NMUSD will accept only complete solutions from a prime supplier. Suppliers may not bid on only one item or selected items from the RFP.
1.20 Offer Expiration Date
Proposals in response to this RFP will be valid for 120 days from the proposal due date. NMUSD reserves the right to ask for an extension of time if needed.
1.21 Post-Award Debriefing
NMUSD will upon written request offer to debrief suppliers who were disqualified or did not win the contract. This request for debriefing will be accommodated only after the final contract has been awarded. Suppliers may either make appointments for a conference at NMUSD or be debriefed via a telephone conference.
1.22 Designation of Requirements
NMUSD fully expects suppliers to provide a comprehensive solution on a level that meets or exceeds all requirements as stated in the RFP. To prevent any confusion about identifying requirements in this RFP, the following definition is offered: The wordsshallor must are used to designate a mandatory requirement. Suppliers must respond to all mandatory requirements presented in this RFP. Failure to respond to all mandatory requirements may be cause to disqualify your proposal.
1.23 Exceptions to the RFP
NMUSD requires each supplier to provide a list of exceptions taken to this RFP. Any exceptions taken must be identified and explained in writing. An exception is defined as the supplier’s inability to meet a mandatory requirement in the manner specified in the RFP. If the supplier provides an alternate solution when taking an exception to a requirement, the benefits of this alternative solution must be explained.
1.24 Product Use Requirements
NMUSD requires that all hardware, system software products and application software products included in proposals be currently in use in a production environment by at least one other customer, have been in use for at least one year, and have been generally available from the manufacturers for a period of one year. Unreleased or beta test hardware, system software, or application software will not be accepted. It is understood that applications software required to be built is excluded from this provision.
1.25 Proposal Errors
NMUSD will not be liable for any errors or omissions in supplier proposals. Suppliers will not be allowed to alter proposal documents after the proposal due date without permission from NMUSD. NMUSD may correct simple math errors and alert the supplier to the error, or if the error appears to be significant, NMUSD may either disqualify the supplier or require the supplier to make the recalculation and resubmit the data.
NMUSD approved changes after the submission date may be made only to correct an error in an existing part of the proposal. New material may not be submitted. No oral, telephone, or faxed modifications or corrections will be accepted.
1.26 NMUSD Services Agreement
Attached in RFP Appendix F is a typical NMUSD services agreement. Suppliers shall review the contract and list in their proposal any potential issues.
1.27 Alternate Proposal and Options
Suppliers may submit more than one proposal, each of which must satisfy the requirements of the RFP. If alternate proposals are submitted, such alternatives shall be clearly labeled and identified on the cover page of each separate document. Each proposal will be evaluated on its own merits.
No Alternate proposals will be accepted as stand alone proposals; all alternate proposals submitted must be submitted under separate cover and include a complete pricing volume. Alternate proposals must have a foreword section that briefly describes the deviation from the baseline proposal and the basic advantage(s) of the alternate proposal.
Suppliers may propose enhancements or equipment that provides increased performance as an option to the baseline RFP. Any option proposed must be included in a separate proposal and contain a brief description of the enhancement, the actual benefit to be gained and the cost of the enhancement.
1.28 Pricing
All elements of recurring and nonrecurring costs that must be borne by NMUSD shall be identified and presented in the pricing volume using the specified format, noted in RFP Appendix B. These costs should include all labor, travel, lodging, per diem, car rental and so on required to complete each phase of the project. Expenses shall be billed at cost. Costs should be listed in the project phase in which they will occur; suppliers shall not preload continuing costs into the first phase. Suppliers shall list and price any item that is part of their solution whether hardware, software, or management related that has not been specified in the requirements but is needed in order to complete the supplier’s proposed solution.