N EEDHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1330 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
April 2026
R EQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
# 27SCH001G
I NDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATION OF
4 03(b) COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
The Needham P ublic S chool District, as the lead district for a Collective Purchasing G roup, s eeks
writtenp roposalsfromq ualified,independentThird-PartyA dministrators(TPA)toassistinterestedSchool
D istricts w ithin the C ollective P urchasing Group with the implementation a nd o peration of each School
D istrict's4 03(b)andrelatedp rogramsa ndacta sThirdP artyA dministrator("TPA")fore achp rogram. The
responsibilities for implementation and operation are defined in the Scope of Work.
The RFP covers thethree year period beginning, January1 , 2027 through December 31, 2029.
R equest for Proposal packages will be available from the Office of theN eedham Public Schools Assistant
S uperintendent for Finance and Operations, 1330 Highland Avenue, Needham, MA 02492, or may be
d ownloaded fromhttp://www.needhamma.gov/bids.aspx beginning,April 10, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
P roposals are returnable to theOffice of the AssistantS uperintendent for Finance and Operations, 1330
H ighland Avenue, Needham, MA 02492n o later than10:00A M, May 11, 2026, at which time and place
they will be opened in the presence of one or more witnesses. LATE PROPOSALS will not be accepted.
T he Town reserves the right to reject any and all proposals as determined to be in the interests of the Town
a nd to waive minor informalities.
Bids will be awarded by the Needham School Committee, acting through the Superintendent.
D aniel Gutekanst
Superintendent of Schools
T own of Needham
N eedham, Massachusetts
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P rimary Procurement Contact
E vent
T itle
Contract Number
RFP Available
Pre-Bid Meeting
Proposal Presentation
Deadline for Written Questions
Addenda
Needham Public Schools
Procurement in Brief
Melane Bisbas
S chool Business and Operations Coordinator
1 330 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
Phone: 781-455-0400 x 11204
m elane_bisbas@needham.k12.ma.us
Date
Details
INDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATION OF
403(b) COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
#27SCH001G
R equest for proposal packages are
available from the Office of the
A ssistant Superintendent for Finance and
O perations, 1330 Highland Avenue,
Needham, MA 02492, or may be
d ownloaded from
A pril 10, 2026 9:00 AM
h ttp://www.needhamma.gov/bids.aspx.
Bidders who access bid materials from
the Town’s website are responsible for
a cknowledging receipt of those materials
using the Acknowledgement of Receipt
form found in Appendix B and for
c hecking the website periodically for
any addenda that may be issued.*
No Prebid is Scheduled
M ay be requested
Q uestions must be submitted in writing,
via fax, email or US post to:
Melane Bisbas
School Business and Operations
A pril 24, 2026 12:00 PM
C oordinator
1 330 Highland Avenue
Needham Public Schools will
n ot respond to questions
s ubmitted after the above date.
Needham, MA 02492
Phone: 781-455-0400 x 11204
m elane_bisbas@needham.k12.ma.us
O ral communications are not binding on
the School Department. Responses to
questions submitted in writing will be
forwarded to all persons on record as
h aving received the RFP.
If any changes are made to this RFP, an addendum will be issued. Addenda
w ill be mailed or faxed or emailed to all bidders on record as having received
the RFP. Addenda also will be posted to the Town of Needham bid website
athttp://www.needhamma.gov/bids.aspx.
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When and Where are Bids Due?
N umber of Required Copies
Bid Opening
Bid Surety (Bond) Requirements
Contract Award
Contract Length
B ids are due to the Office of the
Assistant Superintendent for Finance and
O perations, 1330 Highland Avenue,
N eedham, MA 02492 by the due date
May 11, 2026 10:00 AM a nd time. If, on the bid due date, the
above office is closed due to
L ATE PROPOSALS will not be u ncontrolled events such as fire, snow,
accepted.
ice, wind, or building evacuation, the bid
o pening will be postponed to the next
normal business day (M-F, excluding
holidays.) Bids will be accepted at the
same location until that date and time.
O ne original + 3 copies of all forms
S ealed proposals are NOT publicly
M ay 11, 2026 10:00 AM
o pened. Proposals will be opened in the
presence of one or more witnesses. A list
o f bidders will be made available after
the submission deadline.
None Required
Award will be made within 90 business days after the bid opening.
3 Years
Upon Award of Contract
Payment Bond
N one Required
Performance Bond
N one Required
Insurance
R efer to Contract Terms
*Bid Acknowledgement
It is recommended (but not required) that bidders acknowledge receipt of the bid package using the
Acknowledgement of Receipt form found inAppendixC. Bidders who complete and return this
acknowledgement will be entered as a bidder of record in the Bid Distribution Register, thereby ensuring that they
will receive notification of any addenda or answered questions related to this bid. Bidders who do not complete
and return the Acknowledgement Form are responsible for checking the website regularly for any addenda that
a re issued to this bid.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. General Information & Instructions to Bidders
1. Questions
2 . Bid Addenda
3 . Pre-Bid Conference
II. Basis for Use of Competitive Sealed Proposals (RFP)
III. Contract Award and Bidder Qualifications
IV. Purchase Description and Scope of Services
V. Comparative Evaluation Criteria
B ID FORMS
BID FORM I- BID CHECKLIST
BID FORM II-BIDDER INFORMATION AND STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS
B ID FORM III- PRICE PROPOSAL
A TTACHMENT A- EXCEL FORM
B ID FORM IV- CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE WITH
M ASSACHUSETTS TAX LAWS AND NON-COLLUSION
BID FORM V- CERTIFICATE OF CORPORATE VOTE
A PPENDIX A- MASTER AGREEMENT
APPENDIX B- DISTRICT AGREEMENT
APPENDIX C- ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT
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N EEDHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS
1330 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
A pril 2026
I NDEPENDENT THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATION OF
4 03(b) COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
R EQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
#27SCH001G
I. I NFORMATION & INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS
1 . Collective Procurement:
T he Needham Public S chool District, a s the Lead District for a C ollective Purchasing G roup
(CPG), seeks written p roposals from q ualified, independent Third P arty A dministrators (TPA) to
assist interested S chool Districts w ithin the Collective Purchasing Group with theimplementation
and operation of e ach School D istrict's 4 03(b) and related p rograms a nd a ct as T hird Party
Administrator("TPA")foreachp rogram. T heresponsibilitiesforimplementationa ndo perationare
d efined in the Scope of Work.
T he Massachusetts public school districts and public school collaboratives that comprise
the C ollective Purchasing Group (CPG) are: Acton-BoxboroughR egional, Andover Public
Schools, Arlington, Ashland, Assabet Valley Collaborative, Athol Royalston Regional School
D istrict, Ayer Shirley Regional, Bedford, Brookline, Canton, Carlisle, Concord, Concord-Carlisle
R egional, Danvers, Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School District, Edgartown,
E verett, Franklin, Georgetown, Greater Lawrence Technical, Greater Lowell Technical, King Philip
Regional School District, Lee, Lexington, Lincoln, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional, Lunenburg,
Lynnfield, Manchester-Essex Regional, Marblehead, Marlborough, Martha’s Vineyard Regional,
N arragansett Regional School District, Natick, Needham, New Bedford, North Middlesex Regional,
Northampton, Northborough, Northborough-Southborough Regional School District, Oak Bluffs,
P entucket Regional School District, Pittsfield, Quabbin Regional School District, Reading, Saugus,
S ilver Lake Regional, South Coast Educational Collaborative, South Middlesex Regional Vocational
Technical School District/ Joseph P. Keefe Technical School, South Shore Educational
Collaborative, Southborough, Southeastern MA Educational Collaborative, Stoneham, Stoughton,
S udbury, Tewksbury, Tisbury, Up-Island Regional, Walpole, Wayland, Wellesley, Westford, Weston,
W hittier Regional Vocational Technical High School, Wilmington, Winchendon, Winchester, and
Woburn(collectively referred to as the "CollectiveP urchasing Group").
Needham Public S chool D istrict is the L ead District for the Collective Purchasing G roup, with
responsibilityforthep rocurementu ptoa ndincludingawardo fa contract(MasterA greement). T he
L ead D istrict w ill form a c ommittee to e valuate Technical P roposals b ased on the M inimum
E valuation Criteria a nd the Comparative E valuation C riteria s et forth in this RFP, and the Price
Proposals.
T he c ontract (Master A greement) resulting from this R FP will b e u p to three y ears (36 months.)
Each d istrict in the C ollective Purchasing Group w ill have the a bility a nd authority to access the
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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.