RFP #4157: Climate Surveys

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

For

Climate Surveys

THIS IS NOT AN ORDER

VENDOR/PROPOSER NAME & ADDRESS	Unless otherwise noted, names of all organizations submitting proposals will be publicly available after the date and time specified as the deadline for submitting proposals. Proposals will be open to public inspection after award(s). Revisions to this request for proposal, including due date, may be made by an official written amendment issued by Purchasing Services. Please check whether any amendments have been issued prior to submitting a proposal and do not submit a proposal before the School District issues its formal response to questions about the RFP. Correspondence must reference the proposal number.
PROPOSAL NUMBER: 4157 ISSUE DATE: January 12, 2026 DUE DATE: February 20, 2026 - 2:00 PM (CST) IF NOT PROPOSING, please check here and return this cover page only.	The original proposal may be submitted via US mail, hand delivery or a delivery service and must be received by PBPA – Room 200A at 545 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53703-1967. Proposals not date/time stamped by PBPA – Room 200 (608) 204-7819 staff (or designee) by the posted date and time shall be considered late and shall be rejected. Any entity submitting a proposal has no enforceable right to amend its proposal after the submission deadline. The MMSD is exempt from Federal Excise and Wisconsin State Sales tax.
By signing this proposal, we certify that we have not, either directly or indirectly, entered into any agreement or participated in any collusion or otherwise taken any action in restraint of free competition; that no attempt has been made to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a proposal; that this proposal has been independently arrived at without collusion with any other proposer competitor or potential competitor; that this proposal has not been knowingly disclosed prior to the opening of proposals to any other proposer or competitor; that the above statement is accurate under penalty of perjury.
The undersigned states that he/she is authorized to bind the proposer and on its behalf, hereby agrees with all the terms, conditions, and specifications required by the Madison Metropolitan School District in this Request for Proposal, and declares that the attached proposal and pricing are in conformity therewith. SIGNATURE: DATE: TYPE or PRINT NAME: TITLE: TELEPHONE NUMBER: FEIN or TAX ID NUMBER: FAX NUMBER: EMAIL ADDRESS:

Table of Contents

1. General Information 3

1.1 Introduction and background 3

1.2 Scope 3

1.3 Request for proposal process 5

1.4 Procuring and contracting department/division 5

1.5 Definitions 5

1.6 Clarification and/or revisions to the specifications and requirements 6

1.7 Debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment or declared ineligible 6

1.8 Accessibility guidelines related to proposed software and hardware 7

1.9 Vendor conference 7

1.10 Reasonable accommodations 7

1.11 Calendar of events 7

1.12 Contract term and funding 8

1.13 State of Wisconsin VendorNet registration 8

2. Preparing and Submitting a Proposal 8

2.1 General instructions 8

2.2 Proprietary information 8

2.3 Incurring costs 8

2.4 Submitting the proposal 9

2.5 Proposal organization and format 9

2.6 Multiple proposals 10

2.7 Oral Presentations and site visits 10

2.8 Demonstrations 10

2.9 Withdrawal of proposals 10

3. Proposal Selection and Award Process 10

3.1 Preliminary evaluation 10

3.2 Proposal scoring 11

3.3 Right to reject proposals and negotiate contract terms 11

3.4 Evaluation criteria 11

3.5 Award and final offer(s) 11

4. Vendor/Proposer Qualifications 11

4.1 Introduction 12

4.2 Organizational capabilities 12

4.3 Key staff 12

4.4 References 12

5. Requirements 12

5.1 Mandatory requirements 12

5.2 Technical requirements 12

6. Cost Proposal 13

6.1 Conditions for payment 13

6.2 General instructions on submitting cost proposals 13

6.3 Format for submitting cost proposals 13

6.4 Fixed price period 13

7. Special Contract Terms and Conditions 13

7.1 Hold harmless 13

7.2 Liquidated damages 13

7.3 Prime contractor and minority business subcontractors 14

7.4 Additional terms 14

7.5 Termination of contract 14

8. Standard Terms and Conditions 14

9. Required Forms 14

9.1 Cover Page (Sign and complete RFP cover page) 15

9.2 Attachment A Vendor Information 15

9.3 Attachment B Vendor Reference 15

9.4 Attachment C Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information 15

9.5 Attachment D Cost Summary Page (see Section 6) 15

9.6 Attachment E Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion 15

9.7 Appendix A Affirmative Action Requirements for Contractors and Vendors 15

9.8 Appendix B Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer Identification Report 15

9.9 Appendix C Affirmative Action & Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement 15

Standard Terms and Conditions (Non-Construction) 16

Attachment A – Vendor Identification 18

Attachment B – Vendor References 19

Attachment C – Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information 20

Attachment D – Cost Summary Sheet 21

Attachment E – Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion 22

Appendix A – Affirmative Action Requirements for Contractors and Vendors 23

Appendix B – Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Information Report 24

Appendix C – Affirmative Action & Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement 26

Appendix D – Intention to Submit a Proposal and Questions/Inquiries 30

1. General Information

1.1 Introduction and background

The purpose of this document is to provide interested parties with information to enable them to prepare and submit a proposal for Climate Surveys. The District as represented by Research, Assessment, & Improvement intends to use the results of this solicitation to award a contract for purchasing a comprehensive climate survey system.

Approximately 25,500 students, about 60% of which are minority, are currently enrolled in the Madison Metropolitan School District (District), making it the second largest school district in the State of Wisconsin. The District employs 2,664 teachers, 141 administrators and 1,382 support personnel, plus 2,200 part time staff (including substitute teachers and summer recreation workers). The District includes 52 school buildings in a 72 square mile area that includes the City of Madison and all or parts of several surrounding municipalities, with 33 elementary schools (grades 4K through 5) 12 middle schools (grades 6 through 8) and 6 high schools, one of which is a small alternative high school (grades 9 through 12). Several of the schools at each level have been named National Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. The District also operates early childhood programs and alternative programs for middle and high school students as well as maintaining additional sites such as the Administration Building, the Maintenance/Food Service Building, the Mansfield and Lussier Stadiums, and the Affiliated Alternatives.

Madison Metropolitan School District believes every school should be a thriving school that prepares each student to graduate from high school ready for college, career and community.  We strive to ensure that students are on-track to graduate, that every student has access to a challenging and well-rounded education, and that students, families and employees experience a positive school and district climate.   The District’s  strategic framework recognizes the  following priorities in working toward the realization of our vision: 1) Empower School Communities – We will empower principals along with school teams, providing them the resources, flexibility and integrated support necessary to collaboratively create strategies with students, staff and families that accelerate student progress; 2) Invest In People –  We will commit to investing in and fully supporting our staff, with a focus on anti-racist, culturally responsive and inclusive teaching and powerfully aligned hiring, placement, induction, professional growth, coaching and evaluation practices; 3) Streamline Priorities – We will focus the work of the central office team on breaking down systemic barriers and filling gaps in access, services and resources; 4) Plan for the Future – We will think and plan long-term in partnership and collaboration with our students, families, staff and the larger Madison community.; and 5) Embrace Innovation – To address challenges without clear solutions, we will adopt new mindsets toward risk-taking and support people in bold, new and innovative work within the classroom and beyond.

(MMSD’s Strategic Framework can be found at: https://www.madison.k12.wi.us/about/strategic-framework )

Because of the District’s sound financial management practices, Madison Metropolitan School District is one of only a few Wisconsin districts to have an “AA+ stable” bond rating.

1.2 Scope

1.2.1 Project Description

We invite proposals for the adoption of a comprehensive climate survey system, including high-quality instruments, analysis/visualization tools, and training for measuring school climate and/or sense of belonging among students, staff, and/or families. This system will consist of various crucial components, including research-supported, validated, developmentally-appropriate survey items; data visualization features; technical support; and professional learning.

1.2.2 Objectives

Our objectives include but are not limited to the following:

• This project supports the implementation of MMSD’s new Strategic Plan, MMSD Excellence Together. Specifically, the MMSD Excellence Together plan sets a 5-year district goal, or performance objective, around increasing Student Sense of Belonging, to be measured by the district climate survey. In addition, climate survey data is expected to be used as a key progress indicator (KPI) in measuring the success of strategies aligned to Focus Area 4: Culture of Connectedness & Wellbeing and Focus Area 5: Family, Community, and Industry Partnerships.

• Goal Setting & Monitoring for the District & Schools: Create a stable measurement of school climate that can be used by both school and district stakeholders for tracking progress over the course of the implementation of MMSD Excellence Together.

• Validated Instruments: Collect high-quality data about school culture and climate using research-supported survey instruments capturing students’ sense of belonging and other domains of climate and culture

• Data-Driven Insights: Provide visualizations and reports that offer actionable insights into school climate.

• Internal Analytics: Allow for data exploration and analysis, including various levels and possible customization of disaggregation (e.g., respondent demographics, school, age levels, attendance areas).

• External Comparison: Allow for potential comparison and benchmarking to other entities (states, districts, and/or schools) as appropriate.

• Streamlined Administration: Facilitate simple, user-friendly, and secure survey administration.

1.2.3 Needs

We seek a climate survey system that fulfills the following needs:

• Surveys for Students and Staff: Surveys must be available to students in elementary through high school and to school-based staff. We seek but do not require that the survey(s) be available to students in at least third grade or younger. We seek but do not require that survey(s) be available to other non-school based district staff and to district families. We seek a tool that can accommodate translations into student languages other than English.

• Belonging Construct or Similar: MMSD requires survey items that construct a measurement of the students’ sense of belonging. In addition, we require student and staff surveys that measure multiple dimensions of school climate.

• Visualization or Analysis Tool(s)/Interface(s): The proposal must detail the tool(s), resource(s), or interface(s) that users will have for the analysis of survey data.

• Integration of District Data: We require the climate survey responses to be able to be triangulated with other MMSD data, such as attendance, academics, and behaviors. We require that the data allow for disaggregation by demographics, site, and grade level. We seek but do not require surveys to be linked via respondent identifier to MMSD administrative data.

• Provision of Training & Support: Proposals must include a description of services for onboarding and training MMSD staff in the technical aspects of the survey system. We seek but do not require services for supporting analysis, consultation on results, and summary presentation.

• Support for Representative Response Rates: We require plans for mitigating non-response bias and ensuring survey responses are representative of the MMSD community at large.

• Annual Administration: We require at least one survey administration per year, to begin in Fall 2026. We seek but do not require a biannual survey administration with fall and spring assessment windows.

1.2.4 Current Operations

Currently, our district administers a confidential, internally-developed climate survey twice per year to students and staff, and once per year to district families. We utilize Qualtrics as our official survey platform. Data are stored locally and basic visualizations are hosted on MMSD’s internal Data Dashboard for users to review and analyze their results. The proposed system should build upon the strengths and current district practices of school climate measurement while addressing its limitations of validity, comparability, and analytics.

1.3 Request for proposal process

This document is a Request for Proposal. It differs from a Request for Bid in that the District is seeking a solution as described herein, not a bid meeting firm specifications for the lowest price. As defined in the American Bar Association Model Procurement Code, Competitive Sealed Proposals will be evaluated based upon criteria formulated around the most important features of a product or service, of which quality, testing, references, and availability or capability, may be overriding factors, and price may not be determinative in the issuance of a contract or award. The proposal evaluation criteria should be viewed as standards which measure how well a vendor’s approach meets the desired requirements and needs of the District.

1.4 Procuring and contracting department/division

This Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued by Madison Metropolitan School District, Purchasing Services, which is the sole point of contact for the District during the Request for Proposal process. The person responsible for managing this procurement process is Dana Scheel, Manager – Procurement & Contract

As it pertains to this RFP, vendors shall NOT have contact with anyone other than the Manager – Procurement & Contract Services (if absent, the Lead Purchasing Clerk) through the duration of this RFP process. All communication pertaining to this RFP must be in writing by email (preferred) or US mail.

Any contract(s) resulting from this RFP will be administered by Madison Metropolitan School District, Research, Assessment, and Improvement. The contract administrator will be Beth Vaade, Senior Executive Director – Research, Assessment, and Improvement.

1.5 Definitions

The following definitions are used throughout this document.

RFP means Request for Proposal

District/MMSD means Madison Metropolitan School District.

Vendor/Proposer means a firm submitting a proposal in response to this RFP.

Contractor means proposer awarded the contract.

1.6 Clarification and/or revisions to the specifications and requirements

In order for your organization to directly receive updates to this Request for Proposal, including responses to submitted questions/inquiries, please complete Appendix D: Intentions to Submit a Proposal and Question/Inquiries. This document (Appendix D) can be emailed to bids@madison.k12.wi.us and it will assist in allowing the District to provide timely information to interested parties.

Any questions concerning this RFP must be submitted in writing in the format provided in Appendix D of this document by e-mail (preferred) or US mail on or before January 23, 2026 - 2:00 PM (CST) to:

Dana Scheel

Manager – Procurement & Contract – PBPA

Madison Metropolitan School District

545 West Dayton Street

Madison, WI 53703-1967

Phone: (608) 204-7819 Email: bids@madison.k12.wi.us

During the selection process, vendors/proposers are specifically prohibited from contacting the District/schools to “prospect” for new business; introduce the firm’s staff; provide marketing or promotional materials; discuss advantages/benefits of their company, and/or discuss the disadvantages of working with their competitor(s). Vendors/proposers with questions about what constitutes allowable behavior during the selection process for this RFP should submit questions in writing to the above email address. Attempts to contact a District employee (including school personnel), official, or representative in any manner contrary to the requirements set forth in this document may lead to vendors/proposers being disqualified from consideration.

An electronic version of the RFP is available on the District’s web site:

www.madison.k12.wi.us/doingbusiness

Vendors/Proposers should raise any questions, exceptions, or additions they have concerning the RFP DOCUMENT as early as possible in the RFP process. If a vendor discovers any significant ambiguity, error, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other deficiency in this RFP, the vendor should immediately notify the above named individual of such error and request modification or clarification of the RFP document.

In the event that it becomes necessary to provide additional clarifying data or information, or to revise any part of this RFP, revisions/amendments and/or supplements will be provided to all known recipients of this initial RFP or posted to the District’s Website at:

www.madison.k12.wi.us/doingbusiness

1.7 Debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment or declared ineligible

Contractors doing business with the MMSD must provide certification that they are not debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, are not in the process of being debarred, or are not voluntarily excluded from conducting business with a federal department or agency of the federal government.

MMSD may exclude a contractor or its subcontractor from participating in the RFP process and/or contract award if the organization or its principal(s) has(have) been debarred or excluded from doing business with the Federal Government.

1.8 Accessibility guidelines related to proposed software and hardware

Vendor should demonstrate that each software and/or hardware proposed conforms to the accessibility guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).

In addition, Vendor should demonstrate that each software and/or hardware conforms to the accessibility guidelines established by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended. (Section 508 is the section of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act that states that all electronic and information technology procured, used, or developed by the federal government after June 25, 2001, must be accessible to people with disabilities. Affected technology includes hardware such as copiers, fax machines, telephones, and other electronic devices as well as application software and websites.)

Vendor may demonstrate compliance with such guidelines by submitting a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) or comparable documentation.

1.9 Vendor conference

A vendor conference could be held virtually on February 4, 2026 - 10:00 AM (CST) to respond to written questions (paragraph 1.6 above), field additional questions, and/or provide additional instruction to vendors. If no questions are received in accordance with paragraph 1.6 above and/or it is deemed unnecessary by the MMSD, the District reserves the right to cancel the vendor conference. All vendors who intend to respond to this RFP and attend the scheduled vendor conference should contact Dana Scheel prior to the scheduled conference to confirm whether or not it will occur. If so, vendors are strongly encouraged to attend the vendor conference.

1.10 Reasonable accommodations

The District will provide reasonable accommodations, including the provision of informational material in an alternative format, for qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. If you need accommodations at a proposal opening/vendor conference, contact Purchasing Services at (608) 204-7819.

1.11 Calendar of events

Listed below are specific and estimated dates and times of actions related to this Request for Proposal (RFP). The actions with specific dates must be completed as indicated unless otherwise changed by the District. In the event that the District finds it necessary to change any of the specific dates and times in the calendar of events listed below, it will do so by issuing a supplement to this RFP. There may or may not be a formal notification issued for changes in the estimated dates and times.

DATE EVENT

January 12, 2026 Date of RFP issue

January 23, 2026 - 2:00 PM (CST) Mandatory intention to submit proposal and/or submission of questions/inquiries (See paragraph 1.6 & Appendix D)

February 4, 2026 – 10:00 AM (CST) Vendor conference (if necessary, see 1.9 above)

February 9, 2026 (estimate) Response to vendor questions/inquiries (to include supplements or revisions) posted on the District’s website

February 20, 2026 - 2:00 PM (CST) Proposals due from vendors

March 6, 2026 (estimate) Interviews by invited vendors (if applicable)

March 10, 2026 (estimate) Demonstration by invited vendors or on-site visits by evaluation committee (if applicable)

March 20, 2026 (estimate) Recommendation

April 27, 2026 (estimate) Board of Education Approval

April 30, 2026 (estimate) Notification of intent to award

1.12 Contract term and funding

The contract shall be effective on the date indicated on the purchase order or the contract execution date and shall run from the date a contract is awarded through June 30, 2029, with an option by mutual agreement of the District and contractor, to renew for three additional one-year periods unless amended, cancelled or rebid.

1.13 State of Wisconsin VendorNet registration

The District makes use of the State of Wisconsin’s purchasing information and vendor notification service. Anyone may access VendorNet on the Internet at http://vendornet.state.wi.us.

2. Preparing and Submitting a Proposal

2.1 General instructions

The evaluation and selection of a contractor and the contract will be based on the information submitted in the vendor’s proposal plus references and any required on-site visits or oral presentations. Failure to respond to each of the requirements in the RFP may be the basis for rejecting a proposal.

Elaborate proposals (i.e., expensive artwork, binders) beyond a sufficiently presented, complete, effective and securely bound proposal, are not necessary or desired.

2.2 Proprietary information

All restrictions on the use of data contained within a proposal and all confidential information must be clearly stated on the attached “Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information” form. Proprietary information submitted in a proposal, or in response to the RFP, will be handled in accordance with applicable law.

To the extent permitted by law, it is the intention of the District to withhold the contents of the proposal from public view until such times as competitive or bargaining reasons no longer require non-disclosure, in the opinion of the District. At that time, all proposals will be available for review in accordance with the Wisconsin Public Records Law.

2.3 Incurring costs

The District is not liable for any cost incurred by proposers in replying to this RFP.

2.4 Submitting the proposal

Proposers must submit ONE hardcopy original (identified as such), ONE electronic version (memory stick or e-mail attachment), and two (2) hardcopies including all materials (excluding Cost Proposal; see paragraph 6.2) required for acceptance of their proposal by February 20, 2026 at 2:00 PM (CST) to:

Dana Scheel

PBPA – Room 200A – Purchasing Services

Madison Metropolitan School District

545 West Dayton Street

Madison, WI 53703-1967

At proposal opening, only the names of responding vendors are provided. No further information will be available until contract award.

Proposals must be time/date stamped as received by PBPA – Room 200 (or designee) on or before the specified date and time provided above. Proposals not so stamped will not be accepted. Receipt of a proposal by the District’s mail system does not constitute receipt of a proposal by Purchasing Services, for purposes of this RFP.

All proposals MUST be packaged, sealed and show the following information on the outside of the package:

Proposer’s name and address

Request for proposal number

Proposal due date

2.5 Proposal organization and format

Proposals should be typed and submitted on 8.5 by 11 inch paper bound securely. Proposals should be organized and presented in the order and by the number assigned in the RFP. Proposals must be organized with the following headings and subheadings:

2.5.1 Cover Page (Sign and complete associated Request for Proposal cover page)

2.5.2 Response to vendor/proposer qualifications (See Section 4):

Introduction

Organizational capabilities

Key staff

References

2.5.3 Response to requirements (See Section 5)

2.5.4 Cost proposal (See Section 6)

2.5.5 Required forms (See Section 9):

Attachment A Vendor Information

Attachment B Vendor Reference

Attachment C Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information

Attachment D Cost Summary Page

Attachment E Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion

Appendix A Affirmative Action Requirements for Contractors and Vendors

Appendix B Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer Information Report

Appendix C Affirmative Action & equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement

Appendix D Intention to Submit a Proposal and Questions/Inquiries

2.6 Multiple proposals

A vendor/proposer may submit multiple proposals; however each proposal must conform fully to the requirements for proposal submission. Each such proposal must be separately submitted and labeled as Proposal #1, Proposal #2, etc. on each page included in the response. Alternate acquisition plans do not constitute multiple proposals.

2.7 Oral Presentations and site visits

Top scoring vendors based on an evaluation of the written proposal may be required to participate in interviews and/or site visits to support and clarify their proposals, if requested by the District. The District will make every reasonable attempt to schedule each presentation at a time and location that is agreeable to the proposer. Failure of a proposer to conduct to interview or permit a site-visit on the date scheduled may result in rejection of the vendor’s proposal.

2.8 Demonstrations

Top-scoring vendor(s) may be required to install and demonstrate its product(s) and/or service(s) at a District site. Product(s) being demonstrated must be delivered to the District site upon a two (2) week notice by the District to the vendor(s) and must be installed and ready for the demonstration within one (1) week of delivery. The District will furnish detailed specifications concerning the demonstration site and the particular test it will use to exercise the vendor’s product(s) and/or service(s). Failure of a vendor to furnish the product(s) and/or service(s) it has proposed for demonstration within the time constraints of the preceding paragraph may result in rejection of that proposal. Failure of any product(s) and/or service(s) to meet the District’s specified requirements during the demonstration may result in rejection of the vendor’s proposal.

The successful demonstration of the vendor’s product(s) and/or service(s) does not constitute acceptance by the District. Any product(s) and/or service(s) furnished by the vendor for the purposes of this demonstration must be identical in every respect to those which will be furnished if a contract results.

2.9 Withdrawal of proposals

Proposals shall be irrevocable until contract award unless the proposal is withdrawn. Proposers may withdraw a proposal in writing at any time up to the actual proposal closing date if the proposal has already been received by Purchasing Services. To accomplish this, the written request must be signed by an authorized representative of the proposer and submitted to purchasing services. If a previously submitted proposal is withdrawn before the proposal due date and time, the proposer may submit another proposal at any time up to the original proposal closing date and time.

3. Proposal Selection and Award Process

3.1 Preliminary evaluation

The proposals will first be reviewed to determine if requirements in Section 2.0 are met and if additional requirements are met (see all requirement sections). Failure to meet mandatory requirements will result in the proposal being rejected. In the event that all vendors do not meet one or more of the mandatory requirements, the District reserves the right to continue the evaluation of the proposals and to select the proposal which most closely meets the requirements specified in this RFP.

3.2 Proposal scoring

Accepted proposals will be reviewed by an evaluation committee and scored against the stated criteria. The committee may review references, request interviews, and conduct an on-site visit and use the results in scoring the proposals. Diverse-owned businesses are encouraged to participate in this solicitation and may receive a 5% preference. To qualify, vendors must be certified by the Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Program or participate in the Wisconsin Diversity Procurement Network.

3.3 Right to reject proposals and negotiate contract terms

The District reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive minor irregularities and technicalities. The judgment of the District on such matters shall be final. The District further retains the right to negotiate the terms of the contract, including the award amount, with the selected proposer prior to entering into a contract. If contract negotiations cannot be concluded successfully with the highest scoring proposer, the District may negotiate a contract with the next highest scoring proposer.

3.4 Evaluation criteria

The proposals will be scored using the following:

CRITERIA	Weight (%)
Cost	15%
Organization’s Ability to Meet Service and Support Requirements	50%
Organization Qualifications/Experience	20%
Documentation Qualifying Vendor as a Diverse-owned Business Firm	5%
References	10%
TOTAL	100%

3.5 Award and final offer(s)

The District may recommend a contract be awarded to the vendor with the highest total score as outlined in section 3.4, or may recommend that contracts be awarded to multiple proposers to provide portions of the services or goods proposed. Alternatively, multiple vendors with the highest total scores may be requested to submit final and best offers. If final and best offers are requested, they will be evaluated against the stated criteria, scored and ranked in the same manner described above to determine the vendor with the highest total score.

4. Vendor/Proposer Qualifications

4.1 Introduction

Please provide an appropriate brief introduction as it pertains to your organization.

4.2 Organizational capabilities

Describe the firm’s experience and capabilities in providing similar services to those required. Be specific and identify projects, dates, and results.

4.3 Key staff

Provide resumes describing the educational and work experiences for each of the key staff who would be assigned to the project.

4.4 References

Proposers must include in their RFPs a list of organizations, including points of contact (name, address, and telephone number), which can be used as references for work performed in the area of product(s) or service(s) required. Selected organizations may be contacted to determine the quality of work performed and personnel assigned to the project. The results of the references will be provided to the evaluation team and used in scoring the written proposals.

5. Requirements

5.1 Mandatory requirements

The following requirements are mandatory and must be complied with.

5.1.1 Climate survey instrument that includes a measure of student belonging and multiple dimensions of school climate for staff and students.

5.1.2 Developmentally-appropriate survey instruments for students and staff in elementary through high school.

5.1.3 Evidence of theoretical/research base and analyses/approaches used to demonstrate validity, reliability, and representativeness of survey instruments.

5.1.4 Evidence of training and support provided to district staff to implement and use the climate survey.

5.1.5 Able to be administered at least annually, beginning in Fall 2026.

5.2 Technical requirements

5.2.1 Data platform is able to integrate with other current MMSD systems and platforms, such as the on-premesis and/or cloud-hosted data warehouse (PowerSchool Unified Insights), eduCLIMBER, and Data Dashboard. Data is able to be easily imported into a SQL database with the hopes of being an automated import.

5.2.2 Data platform is available to district-level users to maintain student records and staff access.

5.2.3 Secure and user-friendly methods for administering the survey.

5.2.4 Generation of user-friendly reports and/or visuals for analyzing results.

5.2.5 If this proposal includes software developed specifically for MMSD or as a part of a program MMSD would use, vendor may submit a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) or must provide comparable documentation to satisfy the requirement in paragraph 1.8 (evaluated by MMSD Legal Services).

6. Cost Proposal

6.1 Conditions for payment

As a public school district, MMSD must be a wise steward of public funds, and generally does not pay for goods or services prior to the delivery thereof, and any proposal for pre-payment should include the reasons why pre-payment is necessary and a wise use of public funds. Even in the case of a prepayment, the District will only agree to payments based on project phases (or project milestones) and established outcome targets for each phase. At the District’s sole discretion, these progress payments may be tied to the satisfactory completion of the work. The District may also include a ‘retainage clause’ of 5% to 10% to be released only after the entire project has been satisfactorily completed.

6.2 General instructions on submitting cost proposals

The original cost proposal and one copy should be submitted in a separate envelope with the written proposal. The cost proposal will be scored as described in sections 3.4 and 3.5.

6.3 Format for submitting cost proposals

The format for submitting Cost Proposals has been established in Attachment D and should not be modified.

6.4 Fixed price period

All prices, costs, and conditions outlined in the proposal shall remain fixed and valid for acceptance for 60 days starting on the due date for proposals.

7. Special Contract Terms and Conditions

7.1 Hold harmless

By submitting a proposal, contractor understands that the District and its representatives will determine which proposal is accepted. Vendor/Proposer waives any right to claim damages of any nature, whatsoever, based on the selection process, and any communications associated with the selection of the successful contractor. All completed proposals and supporting documentation submitted shall be the property of the Madison Metropolitan School District.

7.2 Liquidated damages

The Vendor/Proposer acknowledges that, if after being awarded a contract the contractor fails to deliver the goods or services in a timely manner, substantial economic and other damages will be incurred by the District, in an amount that is not easily ascertained, and that the District shall solely determine the amount per working day that the District is entitled to, not to exceed one-half of the total of the contract, for every day past the scheduled delivery date(s) as a fair and appropriate estimate of such damages. The contractor agrees that such amount is not intended to be a penalty but to represent actual damages incurred, and that the District shall have the right to assess such damages either through deducting the damages from the amount due under contractor’s invoices or by directly billing Contractor.

7.3 Prime contractor and minority business subcontractors

The prime contractor will be responsible for contract performance when subcontractors are used. If subcontractors are to be used, the proposer must clearly explain their participation and they must abide by all terms and conditions of the contract.

7.4 Additional terms

The District reasonably believes that sufficient funds are available or can be obtained to make payments due under any contract issued under this proposal; however, the contract will terminate immediately and absolutely if appropriated and otherwise unobligated funds are no longer available to satisfy the obligations of the District under this contract.

The District shall not be bound by any terms and conditions included in any proposer’s packaging, service catalog, brochure, technical data sheet or other document which attempts to impose any conditions at variance with or in addition to the terms and conditions contained in this solicitation, including the standard terms and conditions contained herein, or in the resultant contract. If a proposer objects to any term or condition that shall relate to a contract resulting from this solicitation, the objection shall be clearly stated on a separate page entitled “Objection to Term or Condition.”

If the objection is accepted by the District it will be stated in any resultant contract. If not stated in the contract, the terms and conditions shall remain as written in the RFP.

7.5 Termination of contract

The District may terminate the resultant contract at any time at its sole discretion by delivering sixty (60) days written notice to the contractor. Upon termination, the District’s liability will be limited to the pro rata cost of the services performed as of the date of termination plus expenses incurred with the prior written approval of the District. Termination by the contractor shall require written notice to that effect to be delivered by the contractor to the agency not less than ninety (90) days prior to said termination. In the event that the contractor exercises its right to terminate the contract, for any reason whatsoever, it will refund to the District within fifteen (15) days of said termination, all payments made hereunder by the District to the contractor for work not completed or not accepted by the District.

8. Standard Terms and Conditions

The District reserves the right to incorporate standard contract provisions into any contract negotiated with any proposal submitted responding to this RFP (Standard Terms and Conditions and Supplemental Standard Terms and Conditions for Procurements for Products and/or Services). Failure of the successful proposer to accept these obligations in a contractual agreement may result in cancellation of the award.

9. Required Forms

The following forms must be completed and submitted with the proposal in accordance with the instructions given in Section 2.0. Blank forms are attached.

9.1 Cover Page (Sign and complete RFP cover page)

9.2 Attachment A Vendor Information

9.3 Attachment B Vendor Reference

9.4 Attachment C Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information

9.5 Attachment D Cost Summary Page (see Section 6)

9.6 Attachment E Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion

9.7 Appendix A Affirmative Action Requirements for Contractors and Vendors

9.8 Appendix B Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer Identification Report

9.9 Appendix C Affirmative Action & Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement

9.10 Appendix D Intention to Submit a Proposal and Questions/Inquiries

Standard Terms and Conditions (Non-Construction)

1. GENERAL: “Madison Metropolitan School District,” “District,” and “MMSD” are synonymous and mean the Madison Metropolitan School District. The MMSD reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids/proposals, to waive any informality or technicality in any bid/proposal submitted, and to accept any part of a bid/proposal deemed to be in the best interest of the District. The MMSD reserves the right to reject any or all bids/proposals without indicating a reason for such rejection.

2. TAX EXEMPTION: The MMSD is exempt from the payment of Federal Excise Tax and State Sales Tax. The MMSD’s tax-exempt number is ES42341.

3. PRICING AND DISCOUNTS: The MMSD qualifies for governmental and educational discounts. Unit prices shall reflect these discounts. Unit prices shall govern in the bid/proposal evaluation and contract administration.

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