C1.1 The intent of this solicitation is to provide vinyl composition tiles (VCT) floor tiles and related supplies for various Newark Board of Education (NBOE, District) locations. C1.2 The conditions and requirements are intended to be open and nonrestrictive and are to serve as average standards for the purpose of obtaining adequate participation of interested vendors, uniformity in the submission of bids, and selection of the most responsible vendors. C1.3 The Newark Board of Education reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and waive any informality in any proposal in accordance with applicable law. Award of contract will be subject to availability of funds. C1.4 With the exception of Armstrong Standard Excelon Tiles, the schedule of items in the RFP/Q Pricing Spreadsheet section of the bidding platform are brand name or equal (See G9 Brand Name or Equal). Substitutes for tile are prohibited, as we must match existing tiles, textures, and patterns. Where materials are specified by a brand name, it is not the intention of the Newark Board of Education to discriminate against an equivalent product of another manufacturer. The use of manufacturer’s name and product numbers are for descriptive purposes and to establish general quality levels only, they are not intended to be restrictive. C1.5 All products are to be of the best quality manufactured to meet or exceed industry standards. C1.6 It shall be the responsibility of the Office of Facilities Management and Operations, and/or the Director of Support Services, to determine what is considered an equivalent product. At the request of the District samples may be requested. The NBOE shall solely determine whether an alternate bid is in fact “equivalent”, the determination shall be final. C1.7 Whenever possible, products shall be manufactured in the United States of America. C1.8 All goods offered shall be new and non-refurbished. C1.9 When alternate products are proposed, the bidder shall firmly establish that the offered products meet all of the salient characteristics of the preferred brand name. C1.10 Vendor(s) bidding equivalent items must provide literature, specification sheets, and side-by-side comparison showing the difference between the original item requested and the alternative item bid.
