Trustees press difference between consultant-led RFP and straight TPA RFP

Trustees spent a substantial portion of the workshop clarifying procurement strategy after two vendors offered divergent views about the best path forward. The employee benefit committee had recommended proceeding to a TPA RFP without a broker; both Gallagher and Higginbotham urged a consultant-driven procurement process to protect contract guarantees and manage implementation complexity.

One trustee asked the presenters to "make the case for why that is the wrong sequence". Gallagher warned that moving directly to a TPA without a consulting intermediary could produce responses the district might "not necessarily understand" and complicate analysis of member impact, program carve-outs and data feeds. Higginbotham suggested an interlocal procurement with the PACE cooperative as a path to leverage pre-bid work and reduce duplication.

Board members repeatedly requested that any vendor consider the work already completed by the benefits committee and 1 Digital, and asked staff to provide a clear comparative analysis of options (consultant + TPA, TPA-only, interlocal) before any vote. Trustees asked for vendor performance references, sample contract language for rate guarantees, and a timeline for an RFP and implementation that would not disrupt employee open enrollment.