NOTICE TO BIDDERS:
Proposals, subject to the conditions made a part hereof, will be received by the Guilford County Schools Purchasing Dept. until 2:00 PM, December 2, 2026, for the commodity as described herein. Proposals submitted via facsimile (FAX) machine or email in response to this Request for Qualifications will not be accepted.
EXECUTION:
In compliance with this Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned vendor offers and agrees to furnish and deliver any or all items upon which prices are proposal, at the prices set opposite each item within the time specified herein. By executing this proposal, the undersigned vendor certifies that this proposal is submitted competitively and without collusion (G.S. 143-54), that none of its officers, directors, or owners of an unincorporated business entity has been convicted of any violations of Chapter 78A of the General Statutes, the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (G.S. 143-59.2), and that it is not an ineligible vendor as set forth in G.S. 143-59.1. False certification is a Class I felony. Furthermore, by executing this proposal, the undersigned certifies to the best of the vendor's knowledge and belief, that it and its principals are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal or State department or agency. As required by G.S. 143-48.5, the undersigned vendor certifies that it, and each of its sub-consultants for any contract awarded as a result of this RFQ, complies with the requirements of Article 2 of Chapter 64 of the NC General Statutes, including the requirement for each employer with more than 25 employees in North Carolina to verify the work authorization of its employees through the federal E-Verify system.
Failure to execute/sign proposal prior to submittal shall render the proposal invalid and it WILL BE REJECTED. Late Proposals will not be accepted.
1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
The Guilford County Board of Education seeks qualified individuals or firms experienced in Safe School Entry Upgrades (Security Vestibules) Design to provide Architectural and Professional Engineering Services for the following capital improvement projects:
1. Jefferson Elementary School
2. Colfax Elementary School
3. Summerfield Elementary School
4. Morehead Elementary School
5. General Greene Elementary School
6. Rankin ES, Millis Road Elementary School
7. Southwest Guilford Elementary School
8. Southwest Guilford High School
9. Page High School
10. Pleasant Garden Elementary School
2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION
This RFQ is comprised of any attachments, and any addenda released before contract award. All attachments and addenda released for this RFQ in advance of any Contract award are incorporated herein by reference. Proposals shall be submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of this RFQ and any addenda issued hereto.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
It shall be the vendor's responsibility to read the instructions, terms and conditions, all relevant exhibits and attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFQ and comply with all requirements and specifications herein. Vendors also are responsible for obtaining and complying with all Addenda and other changes that may be issued relating to this RFQ. All bidders are hereby notified that they must have the proper license as required under the North Carolina laws. The award of a contract under this solicitation may be paid with federal funding. Funding is contingent upon compliance with all terms and conditions of funding award. All prospective vendors shall comply with all applicable federal laws, regulations, executive orders, FEMA requirements and the terms and conditions of the funding award. In addition, vendors providing submittals shall be responsible for complying with state law and local ordinances.
3.0 SPECIFIC INFORMATION
BID QUESTIONS: Upon review of the RFQ documents, vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFQ to submit the best proposal possible. To accommodate the proposal questions process, vendors shall submit any such questions by 2:00 PM, November 17, 2026.
INSTRUCTIONS: Written questions shall be emailed to William Levette by the date and time specified above. Vendors will enter "RFQ #6858 - Questions" as the subject for the email. Question submittals will include a reference to the applicable RFQ section and be submitted in a format shown below:
Reference Vendor Question
RFQ Section, Page Number Vendor question...?
Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, GCS's response, and any additional terms deemed necessary by GCS will be posted in the form of an addendum. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any GCS personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise regarding this RFQ, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Vendors shall be entitled to rely only on written material contained in an addendum to this RFQ.
PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL: Sealed Proposals, subject to the conditions made a part hereof and the receipt requirements described below, shall be received at 714 Green Valley Road, Greensboro, NC 27408 as described herein. It is the responsibility of the Vendor to have the proposal in to the Guilford County Schools Purchasing Agent by the specified time and date of opening. Attempts to submit a bid via facsimile (FAX) machine, email, or telephone in response to this Invitation for bids will not be accepted.
5.0 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS DOCUMENT
1. SCOPE OF SERVICES
Primary firms along with subconsultants shall submit statements for architectural engineering design services.
The above list is not intended to be exclusive; other services will likely be sought as the need arises. The statement of qualifications does not need to include a fee proposal for any of these specific tasks; fee proposals for individual tasks would be requested during the course of the negotiations with selected firms. Selection will take place based solely on qualifications.
2. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT
The proposal shall be brief, precise, and shall not include unnecessary promotional material. The proposal shall not exceed 20 pages, excluding resumes. The proposal should contain the following elements in the exact order and segmentation listed below:
Cover Letter: Describe your firm or team's interest and commitment in providing Consultant Services to GCS. The letter shall be signed by a person authorized to negotiate a contract with GCS.
Staffing, Team Experience and Understanding of Project & Objectives: Describe the qualifications and experience of the team members expected to be assigned to this project(s). The description shall include previous experience with similar projects. Include an organization chart and provide a matrix including which project team members have worked together in the past. A discussion demonstrating the proposer's understanding of the project, the goals, the services to be provided, the importance to the goals of GCS.
Experience on Similar Projects: The consultant must present significant evidence of successful projects done for public school clients over the past five years. Projects should be representative types normally done by local public-school districts.
Resumes: Include single page resumes of the engineers, technicians, key personnel and sub-Consultants (if any) to be assigned to the project. It is expected that designated key staff will remain for the duration of the project. Key staff substitution will be allowed only after consultation and approval by GCS.
References: Provide at least three references (name, agency, title, address and telephone number) for recent similar or related work.
Other Relevant Information & Exceptions: Provide additional relevant information that may be helpful in the selection process.
Responses to this RFQ are to be delivered to: Guilford County Schools Purchasing Department William Levette, Senior Purchasing Agent RFQ #6858 Architectural and Professional Engineering Services - Safe School Entry Upgrade Guilford County Schools 714 Green Valley Road Greensboro, NC 27408
To be received no later than 2:00 PM, December 2, 2026.
3. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
Qualifications will be screened, and the top candidate(s) will be reviewed by a selection committee. The qualifications for the top candidates will be verified and references will be checked. In reviewing the proposals, GCS will carefully weigh: Respondent's understanding of the project and approach (40%); Respondent's experience in providing similar services for Projects of Similar Scope and Complexity (35%); Qualifications, availability, and abilities of Key Team Members (15%); Quality, completeness and readability of SOQ package (10%).
4. SUBMITTAL GUIDELINES
Firms shall submit three (3) hard copies and one (1) electronic copy in Adobe PDF on flash drive of the qualifications in a sealed envelope.
Additional general contract terms, conditions, insurance, indemnity, payment terms and other procurement requirements are included in the RFQ documents and apply to any contract awarded under this solicitation.