Harlandale ISD staff recommend multiple network contracts, say E‑Rate will cover most costs
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Summary
District technology staff proposed RFP awards for wireless maintenance, UPS, firewall, cabling supplies/services and a dark‑fiber lease; E‑Rate funding is expected to cover the majority of the ~$598,000 total benefit with district shares for initial year costs.
At the March 18 Harlandale ISD work session, technology staff presented a package of recommended RFP awards to maintain and upgrade the district’s network infrastructure and said most purchases would be funded through the federal E‑Rate program.
"The district houses over 1,200 wireless access points district‑wide," Ms. Marina Martinez told the board, and staff recommended the following RFP awards: basic maintenance for the Aruba Wi‑Fi environment (RFP 260006) to Intex Southwest LLC at a low bid annual cost of about $82,800 (district share ~$12,400; E‑Rate ~$70,400); uninterruptible power supplies (RFP 260007) to Power Systems Engineering at about $54,700 (district share ~$8,200; E‑Rate ~$46,500); a next‑generation network firewall (RFP 260008) to Selco LLC at about $58,500 (district share ~$8,700; E‑Rate ~$49,700); network cabling supplies (RFP 260009) to DataOptics Cable Incorporated at about $29,768 (district share ~$4,400; E‑Rate ~$25,300); network cabling services (RFP 260010) to Intech Southwest LLC at a single bid cost of about $224,500 (district share ~$33,600; E‑Rate ~$190,800); and a dark‑fiber lease (RFP 260011) to Crown Castle Fiber LLC at about $147,900 annually on a 36‑month agreement (district share ~$14,790; E‑Rate ~$133,100).
Ms. Martinez said pending E‑Rate approval the combined benefit to the district would total more than $598,000 while the district’s direct cost in the initial year would be roughly $82,000 charged to the general fund.
Trustees asked whether staff had vetted bidders and whether warranties and post‑installation support would be provided. Ms. Martinez said staff used scoring criteria, that many recommended vendors have prior experience with the district, and that some items (for example, the firewall) are a one‑time equipment purchase with an option for extended warranty or maintenance. Board members also discussed the stability of E‑Rate eligibility; staff said the program’s eligible services list had largely stabilized since a major 2014 change and noted recent E‑Rate pilot additions for cyber‑related items.
Staff framed the recommendations as items for the board’s consideration; no final procurement approvals were recorded at the March 18 work session.
