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WASD PHONE RFP
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Westby Area School District

Request for Proposal

VoIP Phone System

 January 24, 2025 

Prepared by: Steve Michaels and Nathan King 

Westby Area School District

All communications, questions and responses shall be directed to:

Steve Michaels 

Westby Area School District

206 West Avenue South

Westby, WI 54667 

608-634-0107 

steve.michaels@westby-norse.org

General Information

This RFP is for a replacement of the VoIP phones throughout the Westby Area School District.  

Specific Information  

Phone System

The Westby Area School District (WASD) is seeking to replace our physical phones and servers that compose our VoIP system.  WASD has approximately 225 phone extensions across 3 school campuses. Westby Elementary and Westby Area MS/HS are connected via dedicated 1 gigabit fiber.  It should be noted that the bus barn is connected to the MS/HS building via wireless point to point.  Coon Valley is connected via a metro connection (fiber) to Vernon Communications in collaboration with Coon Valley Telephone.  

Currently, we have AVAYA phones and servers.  There are currently 2 servers…one at the MS/HS and one at Coon Valley Elementary.

      1. Phones

a. All Phones:  

i. Most must be 1GB pass-thru capable, however there are some that do not require it.

ii. We’d like the flexibility of either wall mounting or desk phones.

iii. Voicemail indicator light

iv. Feature Keys for certain phones: Transfer, conference, hold, redial, voicemail, directory lookup, call history

v. Ability to configure a button on phone as a panic button to initiate an alert and/or building lockdown

2. Required Phone Types and Quantities

a. Administrative/Office Phones (1 GB pass through): (QUANTITY: 6)

i. Display

ii. Bluetooth enabled  

iii. Compatibility for wireless handset

iv. Navigation and selection keys

v. Hold/resume, transfer, and conference keys

vi. Speakerphone, headset, and mute keys  

vii. Programmable line keys

viii. Soft Keys

ix. Full-duplex speakerphone

x. Ability to add expansion modules

b. Classroom Phones (1 GB pass through): (QUANTITY: 200)

i. Standard keypad

ii. Navigation/selection keys or button

iii. Hold/resume, transfer, and conference keys

iv. Message and Directory keys

v. Line keys

vi. Soft Keys

vii. Volume Control key

viii. Speakerphone

c. Wireless Handset Phones (POTENTIALLY) (quantity 4)

i. Wireless phone with same basic specifications as classroom phone

3. Voicemail Boxes

a. Proposed system should provide voicemail for 225 users or voicemail accounts

b. Users should have a voicemail box whether they are assigned to a phone or not

c. Users assigned to a phone should have voicemail indicator on the phone

d. System should, at a minimum, forward voicemail notification messages to the Districts email  provider, Google Apps (GMAIL). Ideally, system would provide audio link to listen to voicemail  directly from email

4. Mobility Options

a. Optional wireless phone solutions for staff

b. Bluetooth headset compatibility

c. Options or ability to integrate with or forward to 3rd party mobile phones and devices  

5. Directory Structure

a. Directory should contain local users, extensions, and main listings per local site.

b. An outside caller should be able to look up and connect to a local user by name or extension, based on the site called.

c. A global directory should be available internally that contains all local site directories

6. Auto Attendant

a. Global auto attendant message should be configurable for district wide messages like school closings

b. Each site should have a multi-level auto attendant specific to that site’s needs

c. Role-based management of auto attendant should be limited per site and level of attendant  d. Authorized users should be able to change auto attendant messages off site

7. Fax Service

a. We are currently using digital fax lines (through E.O. Johnson)

b. For the district office and for Coon Valley Elementary we have analog fax lines

8. Safety and Survivability

a. The system must provide basic function of local phones in the event of all outside network access  disconnection.

b. Direct dialing within the building should continue to work.

c. System must support local to POTS lines for continual access to emergency service such as  911 dialing.

d. Phone should be able to be rebooted or powered on after network disconnect and provide above  functionality.

9. Dialing

a. Internal calls within a site should support three-digit extension dialing.

b. Outside calling should support ten-digit dialing based on phone group restrictions.

c. Restrictions on 900 and international calls should be set per phone group.

d. Each site should have a DID that allows for multiple incoming calls.

e. Some users should have DID mapped to their extensions.

f. SIP Trunks should be centrally located and shared with all sites.

g. Outgoing calls should have Caller ID set to site/user ID. 

h. System should allow for custom Caller ID settings for select users and fax lines.

10. Integration

a. Connect/integrate new system to current Ban-Koe paging system.

b. G-Suite Integration: Ideally, the proposed system would integrate with, and/or take advantage of the feature-sets within Google G-Suite for Education, which is the division’s email, remote meeting, intranet and document management system.

11. Licensing, Support & Warranty

a. Licensing for On-site controller with  

i. 225 phones.

ii. 225 Voicemail boxes

iii. Any other licensing requirements required for use of hardware and features of proposed  system

b. Please include licensing and support fees for 3 years and per year costs after that

c. A complete warranty agreement must be included as part of the bidder's proposal to support the business between 8am.and 4:30p.m. Monday through Friday.

d. Warranty - The telephone system and all associated equipment in the bidder's proposal  must be warranted by the bidder and by the manufacturer to be free of defects in equipment,  software, and workmanship for a period of at least one year following system cutover.

12. Configuration/Pricing

a. Bidders must itemize all charges for individually identifiable components of the proposed PA/Paging  system, including all associated installation, programming, and cabling.

b. Bidders must include charges for all components required to connect all applications, all design  charges, telco interface charges, and training charges.

13. Peripherals

 a. Provide pricing on peripherals & accessories that are not mentioned in RFP.

Systems Integration for Safety, Crisis and/or Mass Notification Events

1. Proposed VoIP and existing PA/Paging systems must integrate to provide alert and communication  capabilities for safety, crisis and/or mass notification events. Please indicate systems abilities to do  the following:

a. Does the system or systems have the ability to add panic buttons in offices with options to trigger alerts for fire / intruder / tornado or other natural disasters?

b. Does the end user have the ability to initiate an alert using a predefined code from any VoIP  phone on the system?

c. Can designated users receive alerts via email, text, workstation screen when a 911 call is placed?

d. Can designated users be prompted to participate in a conference call to coordinate responses when a 911 call is placed?  

e. When a 911 call is placed, does the system provide an option to review audio of the call?

f. Can emergency announcements come from any VoIP phone with proper access code to all  paging zones and classroom VoIP phones simultaneously?

g. Does the proposed system allow anyone to be able to dial directly to any paging zone from any VoIP phone in the district with proper access codes?

h. Do proposed systems have the ability to initiate alerts from a personal mobile device using a predefined code?  

Implementation of All Proposed Systems

1. Project management

a. Project Plan - Bidders are required to supply a description of the key activities required for the  installation of all proposed systems

b. Transparency - It is essential that the installation of new systems be as transparent as possible to  the users. There should be no telephone service interruptions, no interim changes in dialing  procedures, and no perceived degradation in the quality of service

c. Bidder will provide a description of tasks the bidder will perform and the tasks WASD is expected to perform to successfully implement the new system

2. Installation

a. The bidder is solely responsible for the complete turn-key engineering of the new  telecommunications system and all interconnecting facilities.

b. Bidder will provide a description of tasks the bidder will perform and the tasks WASD is expected to perform to successfully implement the new system

3. Training

a. Bidder is required to conduct end-user training on WASD premises, tailored specifically to WASD’s particular requirements

b. Bidder will also provide a training program and training materials for designated WASD personnel who will train future employees

Expectations and Timelines