REQUEST FOR BID PROPOSAL The Merced County Office of Education (MCOE) plans to apply for various eligible services for E-Rate Year 2026. The E-Rate Year 2026 will start 7/1/2026 and end 6/30/2027. The recurring services for E-Rate Year 2026 may start as early as 7/1/2026 and end 6/30/2027 (or beyond for contracts up to 5 years). This Request for Proposal (RFP) serves as notice that MCOE will accept bid proposals from qualified vendors for data communications services, self-provisioned networks, data cabling, network equipment, licenses, and maintenance of network equipment. MCOE reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids or any items therein, to waive any irregularities or informalities, and to contract in the best interests of MCOE. The bid documents must be received by Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 2:00:00 PM (Pacific) or earlier, in a sealed envelope, identified by bid identifier "MCOE E-Rate Year 2026 RFP Bid # 2026-01", and addressed to Facilities & Support Services, Merced County Office of Education, 2100B Cooper Avenue, Merced, CA 95348. MCOE shall use the official U.S. time that is provided by the website https://www.time.gov to determine if the submission has met the deadline. NOTE: It is the total responsibility of the Vendor to return bids to MCOE by the required date, time, and place. The MCOE Facilities & Support Services office hours are 8:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday through Friday. The MCOE Facilities & Support Services office is closed daily between 12:00 noon and 1:00 PM, on weekends, holidays, January 19, 2026, February 9 and 16, 2026. The MCOE Facilities & Support Services office cannot receive bids after office hours or when the office is closed. If bids are to be delivered via common carrier or delivery services, vendors are cautioned that express "next day am" delivery is generally not guaranteed in Merced. LATE BIDS WILL BE REJECTED. Vendors may obtain the RFP online at www.mcoe.org, or by calling Seng Thao at (209) 381-6763, or by emailing erate.mcoe@mcoe.org with the subject line "Request for MCOE E-Rate Year 2026 RFP Bid # 2026-01". This RFP is let pursuant to Public Contract Codes 20111, 20118.2, and 22000. All public works projects shall be subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the department of industrial relations. Pursuant to California Labor Code sections 1725.5 and 1771.1 all public works contractors and subcontractors must be registered with the department of industrial relations. Steve Tietjen Superintendent, Merced County Office of Education IPL0307400 Jan 23,30 2026