WCS Grapples With Phone System Issue
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The board ended up voting to legally advertise for bids for a phone system for the entire Warsaw School District through the competitive bidding process, though the vote was not unanimous. As part of the process, the school board wants to specify the phone network solution must use Cisco equipment, if it is legal to do so.
By bidding it out, the school corporation may also avoid a potential lawsuit.
The project is estimated to cost about a half million dollars.
Board member Dr. Kent Adams made the original motion to advertise for the bids. He said the project has the potential to be more than a $500,000 expenditure for the school corporation and he wasn't comfortable with spending that amount without going through the bidding process.
"I don't agree with it," said Ron Yeiter, board member. "I will vote no."
Adams said they can get bids back in time to approve them at the May meeting. He said he was concerned about the economy, and the board needs to make sure it is making the right decision as well as getting the lowest cost.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz said the process to update the corporation's phone network started in 2008 with the school construction projects. Warsaw's system has a Cisco data network. Since moving the system to the central administration building in June, Hintz said he felt uncomfortable the corporation was looking at only one solution. On his own, he started investigating other options.
The district worked with two vendors legally, including Network Solutions of Granger and CenturyLink of Warsaw.
Warsaw's investigation into its phone network resulted in the board bringing in a third-party consultant, Hintz said. The consultant suggested Warsaw Schools go through Cisco for equipment. Network Solutions provided a quote using Cisco, then CenturyLink approached Warsaw saying it wanted to provide a quote using Cisco. Hintz said Warsaw then was able to compare "apples to apples."
When the two companies' quotes came in, the lowest quote was from Network Solutions at about $113,000 less than CenturyLink.
Then the school corporation received a letter from Chad Winkle, area vice president, sales, CenturyLink which questioned whether or not Warsaw followed the law.
In part, the letter states, "Because our most recent proposal for a Cisco voice solution was requested following a prior request to a different provider, CenturyLink did not have access to a priority discount and therefore, was unable to provide a similar price. Additionally, there was also no specific design request from Warsaw Schools, which may have resulted in very different system designs with different components.
"Therefore, CenturyLink is requesting that Warsaw Community Schools publish a formal request for proposal including a detailed bill of materials for the desired voice network solution. This approach will ensure that Warsaw Schools has access to the most advantageous pricing and that all vendors have equal opportunity to respond."
Hintz said he was fearful if Warsaw goes out for bids for the phone network, they could end up with a bunch of proposals and WCS would be responsible to take the "lowest and most responsive" bid from a company that has not previously dealt with the project.
"We've been honest, upfront and given all vendors - two of them - the opportunity to provide the best bid possible," said Hintz. "The lowest bid was not from Warsaw. I believe in the end the Cisco solution is the way to go. Legally, and financially, we do have the budget capacity for whatever (solution) we select."
Hintz said he believes they followed the same course of action they have in purchasing other equipment through the state. School corporations can request bids through a state list from third-party resellers. The equipment on the list has been approved for purchase by the state and includes "anything you can plug in."
By going through the bidding process, Adams said, WCS can receive quotes from additional vendors and the two other vendors could come back with lower and better quotes.
Dan Robinson, board vice president, asked if they could specify only Cisco equipment. Adams and Deb Wiggins, board president, said they didn't think they could. Robinson also said if WCS goes through the bidding process, they won't have much of a choice and will have to go with the lowest bidder even if it may not be the board's first choice. He said they found that out two years ago with the school construction bids.
School board member Tammy Dalton asked if it was possible to table Adams' motion for further investigation, or if the school system was on a tight schedule.
Jamie Lake, of Kovert Hawkins, the architectural firm handling the school construction projects, said his biggest concern was having interconnectivity if WCS didn't go with Cisco. He also was concerned that if Warsaw didn't move on the phone network quickly, the schools wouldn't have a phone system in August when school started.
Lake said he believed WCS could request bidders must use Cisco equipment.
Wiggins said if WCS can request Cisco, then that could be one of the measurements for one of the bidding process's parameters. "Having said that, we have to be very careful about giving specs out," she said.
Yeiter said he was distressed the way Adams presented his motion. It was not on the agenda. Adams said it was made under "other" on the agenda.
"I think we're opening a can of worms," Yeiter said.
Hintz said he respectively disagreed with Adams. Indiana School Board legal counsel Dave Emmert informed them Monday during a conference call that they were acting legally.
"I am fearful if it goes out for bid, the lowest bidder could be neither one of these companies. We have proceeded with this solution just as we have in buying computers and other equipment. We have been consistent. I do not believe we have violated any laws," Hintz said.
Wiggins made a motion to amend Adams' motion so that bidders for the project must use Cisco equipment if it was legal for the school corporation to specify Cisco. It was approved with five votes, with Yeiter voting against and Robinson abstaining.
For the vote on Adams' motion as amended, it was approved with five "yes" votes, Yeiter voted against it and Robinson abstained.
Wiggins then made a motion to have it researched out if and why Cisco gave a deep discount to one vendor but not the other. If that's true, she said, WCS may not be getting the best price possible. That motion was approved with six votes, with Yeiter abstaining.
After the meeting, Adams said the question on all of this was if the project falls under a "project works project" or a "public purchase project." Indiana code addresses the two types of projects differently.[[In-content Ad]]
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The board ended up voting to legally advertise for bids for a phone system for the entire Warsaw School District through the competitive bidding process, though the vote was not unanimous. As part of the process, the school board wants to specify the phone network solution must use Cisco equipment, if it is legal to do so.
By bidding it out, the school corporation may also avoid a potential lawsuit.
The project is estimated to cost about a half million dollars.
Board member Dr. Kent Adams made the original motion to advertise for the bids. He said the project has the potential to be more than a $500,000 expenditure for the school corporation and he wasn't comfortable with spending that amount without going through the bidding process.
"I don't agree with it," said Ron Yeiter, board member. "I will vote no."
Adams said they can get bids back in time to approve them at the May meeting. He said he was concerned about the economy, and the board needs to make sure it is making the right decision as well as getting the lowest cost.
Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz said the process to update the corporation's phone network started in 2008 with the school construction projects. Warsaw's system has a Cisco data network. Since moving the system to the central administration building in June, Hintz said he felt uncomfortable the corporation was looking at only one solution. On his own, he started investigating other options.
The district worked with two vendors legally, including Network Solutions of Granger and CenturyLink of Warsaw.
Warsaw's investigation into its phone network resulted in the board bringing in a third-party consultant, Hintz said. The consultant suggested Warsaw Schools go through Cisco for equipment. Network Solutions provided a quote using Cisco, then CenturyLink approached Warsaw saying it wanted to provide a quote using Cisco. Hintz said Warsaw then was able to compare "apples to apples."
When the two companies' quotes came in, the lowest quote was from Network Solutions at about $113,000 less than CenturyLink.
Then the school corporation received a letter from Chad Winkle, area vice president, sales, CenturyLink which questioned whether or not Warsaw followed the law.
In part, the letter states, "Because our most recent proposal for a Cisco voice solution was requested following a prior request to a different provider, CenturyLink did not have access to a priority discount and therefore, was unable to provide a similar price. Additionally, there was also no specific design request from Warsaw Schools, which may have resulted in very different system designs with different components.
"Therefore, CenturyLink is requesting that Warsaw Community Schools publish a formal request for proposal including a detailed bill of materials for the desired voice network solution. This approach will ensure that Warsaw Schools has access to the most advantageous pricing and that all vendors have equal opportunity to respond."
Hintz said he was fearful if Warsaw goes out for bids for the phone network, they could end up with a bunch of proposals and WCS would be responsible to take the "lowest and most responsive" bid from a company that has not previously dealt with the project.
"We've been honest, upfront and given all vendors - two of them - the opportunity to provide the best bid possible," said Hintz. "The lowest bid was not from Warsaw. I believe in the end the Cisco solution is the way to go. Legally, and financially, we do have the budget capacity for whatever (solution) we select."
Hintz said he believes they followed the same course of action they have in purchasing other equipment through the state. School corporations can request bids through a state list from third-party resellers. The equipment on the list has been approved for purchase by the state and includes "anything you can plug in."
By going through the bidding process, Adams said, WCS can receive quotes from additional vendors and the two other vendors could come back with lower and better quotes.
Dan Robinson, board vice president, asked if they could specify only Cisco equipment. Adams and Deb Wiggins, board president, said they didn't think they could. Robinson also said if WCS goes through the bidding process, they won't have much of a choice and will have to go with the lowest bidder even if it may not be the board's first choice. He said they found that out two years ago with the school construction bids.
School board member Tammy Dalton asked if it was possible to table Adams' motion for further investigation, or if the school system was on a tight schedule.
Jamie Lake, of Kovert Hawkins, the architectural firm handling the school construction projects, said his biggest concern was having interconnectivity if WCS didn't go with Cisco. He also was concerned that if Warsaw didn't move on the phone network quickly, the schools wouldn't have a phone system in August when school started.
Lake said he believed WCS could request bidders must use Cisco equipment.
Wiggins said if WCS can request Cisco, then that could be one of the measurements for one of the bidding process's parameters. "Having said that, we have to be very careful about giving specs out," she said.
Yeiter said he was distressed the way Adams presented his motion. It was not on the agenda. Adams said it was made under "other" on the agenda.
"I think we're opening a can of worms," Yeiter said.
Hintz said he respectively disagreed with Adams. Indiana School Board legal counsel Dave Emmert informed them Monday during a conference call that they were acting legally.
"I am fearful if it goes out for bid, the lowest bidder could be neither one of these companies. We have proceeded with this solution just as we have in buying computers and other equipment. We have been consistent. I do not believe we have violated any laws," Hintz said.
Wiggins made a motion to amend Adams' motion so that bidders for the project must use Cisco equipment if it was legal for the school corporation to specify Cisco. It was approved with five votes, with Yeiter voting against and Robinson abstaining.
For the vote on Adams' motion as amended, it was approved with five "yes" votes, Yeiter voted against it and Robinson abstained.
Wiggins then made a motion to have it researched out if and why Cisco gave a deep discount to one vendor but not the other. If that's true, she said, WCS may not be getting the best price possible. That motion was approved with six votes, with Yeiter abstaining.
After the meeting, Adams said the question on all of this was if the project falls under a "project works project" or a "public purchase project." Indiana code addresses the two types of projects differently.[[In-content Ad]]
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