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District plans athletic‑apparel RFP to consolidate purchases, athletics director says
Summary
The activities director proposed issuing an RFP for an athletic apparel and brand partner to standardize purchasing for high schools and potentially support middle school needs; board members discussed timeline, vendor choice and contract terms.
The district’s activities director, Mike Biermeyer, told the board on May 12 that the district plans to issue a request for proposals for an athletic apparel contract to leverage volume discounts and standardize procurement for high school uniforms and merchandise.
Biermeyer said the RFP could yield a 10–20 percent cost reduction for uniforms through volume purchasing and would create incentives and school‑store options for students. He said the RFP will generally exclude footwear and sport‑specific equipment (for example, skates and some swim gear) and that local vendors will be allowed to compete.
Nut graf: The proposal seeks to balance lower cost and centralized service with local vendor participation; administration will evaluate bids and return to the board with a recommended vendor for contract approval.
Biermeyer said staff will run a review committee — he named Brandon (district staff), himself and two high‑school athletic directors — to evaluate proposals. He said a ten‑day public RFP window was planned but board members suggested extending it because preparing qualifying proposals is substantial work.
Board members discussed evaluation criteria, local vendor participation and contract terms to allow the district to stop purchases if a supplier cannot deliver specified products. Biermeyer said he had consulted other K‑12 districts and the University of North Dakota about pitfalls in bid scopes and emphasized assessing total cost, custom versus stock items and service guarantees.
Ending: Biermeyer said the RFP would be posted soon, bids opened at month’s end and an administrative recommendation would return to the board for approval. No formal action was taken on May 12.
