INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
Purpose and Goals
The Jones County School District (JCSD) issues this Request for Qualifications to solicit offers from qualified, experienced, responsible and financially sound vendors to provide construction services in the form of a school cafeteria addition.  Proposing vendors must have the proven ability to perform all core services requested in this solicitation. 
 
The JCSD is located in Laurel, MS with 11 campuses - 6 elementary, 3 middle/high schools, 1 career and technical center, and 1 alternative school with 1 Central Office for the district.  The district has approximately 8400 students with an overall accountability rating for the school district as a “B”. 
 
Over the past two years and with the onset of the Covid Pandemic, the JCSD has continued to maintain a large number of students and currently growing in student enrollment.  Therefore, in order to prevent the further spread of Covid infections and to mitigate the effects of Covid on student learning, the JCSD is seeking qualifications for architects to complete a cafeteria dining hall expansion at West Jones High School.
 
All contract awards are at the discretion of the JCSD. The contract will be awarded for a project period up to September 2024.
 
A copy of this solicitation, including any and all appendices, will be posted on the Jones County School District Website www.jonesk12.org and Central Auction House www.centralauctionhouse.com.  It is the sole responsibility of all interested vendors to monitor the website for updates regarding this procurement.


Section 1:  PLAN TO ACHIEVE THE SCOPE OF SERVICES
 
The Vendor is expected to provide the following:
*qualifications in the area of the construction project listed above
*qualifications of any sub-contractors, not members of your firm, who will be utilized as consultants in completing the construction project
*examples of involvement with any other federally-funded projects
*evidence that your firm and other consultants being utilized by your firm, have not been disbarred, suspended, or excluded from participating in federally –funded projects. 
*contractual fees for services to design, bid, coordinate, and insure compliance with all federal mandates related to the construction project listed above
 
Scope of ServicesTo effectively implement the construction project to the JCSD’s requirement, the service of construction should: 
 *be an expansion to an existing cafeteria (dining hall only)
 
 
1.2     Contractor Qualifications Required
The architect and sub-contractors must have experience working on federally-funded projects and must be in compliance with the requirements of the Davis Bacon Act.  The architect must also be registered with sam.gov and not be disbarred, suspended, or excluded from working on federally-funded projects.  
 
1.3     Cost DataBecause of the scope of this project, we believe it should be possible for different Offerors to arrive at vastly differing estimates of resources required. The highest score is assigned to the lowest cost proposed.
 
1.4     Registration with Mississippi Secretary of State 
By submitting a proposal, the Offeror certifies that it is registered to do business in the State of Mississippi as prescribed by Mississippi law and the Mississippi Secretary of State or, if not already registered, that it will do so within seven (7) business days of being notified by the JCSD that it has been awarded a contract.
 
1.5     Debarment 
By submitting a proposal, the Offeror certifies that it is not currently debarred from submitting proposals for contracts issued by any political subdivision or agency of the State of Mississippi or Federal Government and that it is not an agent of a person or entity that is currently debarred from submitting proposals for contracts issued by any political subdivision or agency of the State of Mississippi.
 
1.6     Changes in Scope of Work
The JCSD may order changes in the work consisting of additions, deletions, or other revisions within the general scope of the contract. No claims may be made by Contractor that the scope of the project or of Contractor’s services has been changed, requiring changes to the amount of compensation to Contractor or other adjustments to the contract, unless such changes or adjustments have been made in writing to the Contact for JCSD and approved by the School Board. 
 
If Contractor believes that any work is not within the scope of the project, is a material change, or will otherwise require more compensation to Contractor, Contractor must immediately notify the JCSD in writing of this belief. If the JCSD believes that the work is within the scope of the contract as written, Contractor will be ordered to and shall continue with the work as changes and at the cost stated for the work within the contract.
 
 
Section 2:  REFERENCES
List up to a minimum of three (3) clients, including government clients, for whom your company has performed services similar to those requested in this solicitation.  For each client, the list must specify:
Client name, include contact person, title (director or administrator etc.), location address, e-mail address, and phone number;
The type of work your company provided to the client; and
Contract dates (beginning and end dates) your company provided services to the client.


Section 3:  MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The following minimum qualifications are mandatory. If, in the opinion of the JCSD, the Offeror fails to prove that the proposing company meets any of these minimum qualifications, the proposal will be disqualified from further evaluation. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to submit a complete proposal on or before the submission deadline.
 
The Offeror must provide sufficient client detail to demonstrate it has significant experience in working with programs similar to scope of this solicitation.  For each client, please specify the client’s name, include contact person, title, location address, e-mail address, and phone number for the place of performance of the contract,
The Offeror must  provide:

The abilities, qualifications, and experiences of all persons who would be assigned to provide required services,
The required references as noted in Section 2 –

The Offeror must provide a detailed plan describing how the scope of services will be planned, implemented, and achieved.

The Vendor shall provide all services directly related to this contract from an office(s) located in the United States.
Include in your responses the total number of years in business and the company’s experience related to the scope of work.
If federal funds are allocated for payment, Offeror must verify its business is not debarred. 
 
Section 4:  PROCUREMENT OF CONTRACTS
 
4.1     Restrictions on Communications with the JCSD Staff
At no time shall any Offeror or its personnel, contact or attempt to contact any JCSD staff regarding this solicitation except the contact specified in the Questions and Answers Section. Should it be determined that any Offeror has attempted to communicate or has communicated with any JCSD employee outside of the office regarding this solicitation, the JCSD, at its discretion, may disqualify the Offeror from submitting a proposal in response to this SOLICITATION. 

4.2     Submission Requirements
Proposals should be shipped/mailed in a notebook format to the following:
 
Jones County School District
ATTN:  Dr. Missy Bufkin  RFP#08162022 
5204 Hwy 11 North
Ellisville, MS  39437   
 
4.3     Proposal Submission Period
Proposals shall be submitted electronically via www.centralauctionhouse.com by 08/30/2022 1:00 PM. 
OR
 An original signed proposal packet shall be shipped/mailed and received in a sealed envelope at the JCSD no later than 08/30/2022 1:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST). The return address label must be visible on the sealed envelope and include the name of the individual/entity submitting a response.
 
Shipping instructions are provided below:
 
Jones County School District
ATTN:  Dr. Missy Bufkin
5204 Hwy 11 North
Ellisville, MS  39437
 
Timely submission of the proposal package is the sole responsibility of the Offeror.  Packages received by shipping/mail AFTER the submission deadline will NOT be considered for an award.
 
The JCSD will not be responsible for delivery delays or lost packets.  All risk of late arrival due to unanticipated delays – whether delivered shipping or electronic method – is entirely on the Offeror. All Offerors are urged to take the possibility of delay into account when submitting the proposal and submit the packet electronically via centralauctionhouse.com. The Offeror shall be notified as soon as practicable if their proposal was rejected and the reason for such rejection.
 
4.4     Important Tentative Dates
 
08/16/2022
0818/2022 Request for Proposal advertise dates
08/26/2022 Deadline to submit questions and request for clarification
08/30/2022 Proposal submission deadline by 1:00 PM CST
09/07/2022 Anticipated Date of the Notice of Intent to Award
 
NOTE:  Adjustments to the schedule may be made as deemed necessary by the MDE.
 
 4.5     Questions and Answers 
Questions must be submitted to [email protected] and must be received no later than 08/26/2022 by 1:00 PM CST, to ensure a response by the JCSD.  Questions received after the deadline will not be considered for a response.
The JCSD reserves the right to amend this solicitation at any time. Should an amendment to the solicitation be issued, it will be posted to the JCSD website at www.jonesk12.org. 
 
4.6     Cost of Proposal Preparation
All costs incurred by the Offeror in preparing and delivering its proposal, making presentations, and any subsequent time and travel to meet with the JCSD regarding its proposal shall be borne exclusively at the Offeror’s expense.
 
4.7     Right to Reject, Cancel and/or Issue Another Solicitation
The JCSD specifically reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received in response to the solicitation, cancel the solicitation in its entirety, or issue another solicitation.
 
4.8     Acceptance of Proposals
After receipt of the proposals, the JCSD reserves the right to award the contract based on the terms, conditions, premises of the solicitation, and the proposal of the selected company without negotiation.
 
All properly submitted proposals shall be accepted by the JCSD.  After the evaluating of proposals, the JCSD may request necessary amendments from all Offerors, reject any or all proposals received, or cancel this solicitation, according to the best interest of the JCSD.  
 
 4.9     Modification or Withdrawal of a Proposal
Prior to the proposal submission deadline, a submitted proposal may be withdrawn by submitting a written request for its withdrawal to the JCSD, signed by the Offeror. 
 
 4.10     Proposal Evaluation
All proposals received in response to this solicitation by the stated deadline will receive a comprehensive, fair, and impartial evaluation. An evaluation committee will evaluate the proposals using a process consisting of Compliance and Analysis phases. 
 
Compliance Phase - In this pass or fail phase of the evaluation process, all proposals received will be reviewed by the District Leadership Team to determine if the following mandatory requirements of this solicitation have been satisfied:
 
Proposal received by submission deadline;
Required proposal submission format followed;
Electronic copy of complete proposal, including attachments in searchable Microsoft Office® format, preferably in Word® or Portable Document Format (PDF®) OR at least one notebook copy submitted in a sealed envelope;
Minimum Qualifications met;
Production/Detailed Service Plan;
References;
Cost Data; and
All Required Signed Forms (if applicable). 
Failure to comply with these requirements shall result in the proposal being eliminated from further consideration. Offerors passing the Compliance Phase will be evaluated further.
  
Analysis Phase – In this phase of the evaluation process, the evaluation committee will score proposals to determine numerical scores for each qualified Offeror. Evaluation factors are listed below in order of their relative importance:
 
Price – The highest score is assigned to the lowest cost proposed.
Technical – The quality and completeness of the Offeror ’s solutions and action plans for providing the core services identified in the solicitation, demonstrating responsiveness, understanding, effectiveness, efficiency, and value to the Board in a proposed approach; provide a documented record of past performance of providing similar services.  
Management – Possess personnel, equipment, and facilities to provide timely services; the ability to technically implement all services listed in this solicitation with qualified and experienced staff; references align with the services required.  
Upon completion of the evaluation of proposals, the evaluation committee’s average score will determine the top scoring proposal(s) and the JCSD Leadership Team will make a recommendation to the School Board as to the proposal deemed most advantageous to the district.  The School Board will authorize the issuance of an Intent to Award contract notification to the selected vendor and authorize contract negotiations with the selected vendor, if applicable.
 
  
Section 5:  CONTRACT AWARD
 
The contract award will be set to expire on September 30, 2024 as the project must be finished by this dates. 
The Jones County School District
The specific responsibilities of the JCSD are stated below:
 
Provide a contact person to work with the contractor to ensure quality control;
Review and approve timeframes and work plans;
Provide available information to assist the contractor; 

Management Responsibilities of Personnel and Administration
Except where expressly provided otherwise herein, each party shall bear its own cost incurred in performing its responsibilities hereunder.  The contractor shall provide one person who shall be responsible for all activities required to fulfill said contract.  This individual shall be invested with the authority to make decisions and commitments on behalf of the contracted party during the performance of the solicitation.  The JCSD shall also designate one representative who shall act as the primary contact for this office.  This representative shall be responsible for conferring all parties necessary to resolve unanticipated issues or requirements that might occur during the course of the solicitation.