TRANSMITTAL LETTER FOR BOARD MEETING OF AUGUST 14, 2025
COMMITTEE ON PROCUREMENT
Mr. John P. Murray, Acting Executive Director
Title
Issue purchase order and enter into an agreement for Contract 24-RFP-12 Harassment and Diversity Awareness: Customizable Course for Online and In-Person Instruction to The McGarity Consulting Group, Incorporated, in an amount not to exceed $170,168.00, Account 101-25000-601100, Requisition 1624305
Body
Dear Sir:
Authorization is requested to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement with The McGarity Consulting Group, Incorporated (McGarity Consulting), to provide Harassment and Diversity Awareness: Customizable Course for Online and In-Person Instruction.
The purpose of this contract is to select a qualified vendor to develop and deliver mandatory training on the District’s administrative policies and procedures on harassment, discrimination, employee conduct/civility, workplace violence, social media usage, retaliation, and reporting. The training will be delivered annually in 2025, 2026, and 2027. The training will be developed and delivered in three (3) different formats: 1) an interactive training video that will be uploaded to Cornerstone OnDemand, 2) a live, in-person training class that will be conducted at the various District locations, and 3) virtual instructor-led training sessions utilizing Microsoft Teams and Cornerstone OnDemand. This training will discuss the prevention of harassment and retaliation, the importance of diversity awareness and valuing the differences employees bring to the organization, improper social media conduct, the prevention of workplace violence, and creating a respectful and civil workplace environment for all employees. The training will provide easy-to-understand instructions, realistic situational awareness scenarios, and be interactive with participants. To capture the specific responsibilities of supervisors, two (2) different training courses will be created: supervisory training and a non-supervisory training course.
On December 4, 2024, Harassment and Diversity Awareness: Customizable Course for Online and In-Person Instruction was publicly advertised. The District received six (6) responsive proposals on January 10, 2025, from the following vendors: Clark Baird Smith LLP; CCS Global Tech; HR Solutions & Services, LLC; JBJBusinessGroup Inc.; McGarity Consulting; and ANSR Source Content.
The proposals were evaluated by two members of the Human Resources Department, one member of the Information Technology Department, one member of General Administration, and one member of the Procurement and Materials Management Department. The criteria for these evaluations were outlined in request for proposal, Contract 24-RFP-12, and included: understanding of the project, approach to work, experience completing projects of similar scope, technical competence, and cost. Based on the initial evaluation, all six proposers were invited to participate in the finalist interviews.
Finalist interviews were held on April 28, 2025, May 2, 2025, May 5, 2025, and May 7, 2025. On May 21, 2025, a solicitation was sent to the finalists requesting an unqualified “best and final” offer. The “best and final” offers were returned to the Director of Procurement and Materials Management on May 29, 2025. ANSR Source Content was eliminated after the finalist interviews as they were unable to meet the requirements under IX. Terms and Conditions, Citizenship of Employees, as outlined in the proposal.
Based on the evaluation of the proposals using the criteria described above and the pricing provided in the “best and final” offers, the Human Resources Department recommends McGarity Consulting to provide the harassment and diversity awareness training. McGarity Consulting possesses extensive knowledge and experience developing and administering courses on harassment curriculum and has facilitated similar projects. Their best and final offer also proposed a cost-effective option for the District.
The Diversity review of Contract 24-RFP-12 indicates that due to the various items under the scope, affirmative action goals should be “tailored” at 10% MBE and/or WBE. Appendix V was not included in this RFP. The Diversity Section has reviewed the proposal and has concluded that McGarity Consulting has met the requirements for Appendix A.
In view of the foregoing, it is requested that the Director of Procurement and Materials Management be authorized to issue a purchase order and enter into an agreement, per Section 11.4 of the Purchasing Act, with The McGarity Consulting Group, Incorporated, in an amount not to exceed $170,168.00.
Funds being requested for the 2025 expenditure, in the amount of $34,560.00, are available in Account 101-25000-601100. The estimated expenditure for 2026 is $84,200.00, and for 2027 is $51,408.00. Funds for the 2026 and 2027 expenditures are contingent on the Board of Commissioners’ approval of the District’s budget for those years.
Requested, Thaddeus J. Kosowski, Director of Human Resources TJK:TP
Recommended, Darlene A. LoCascio, Director of Procurement and Materials Management
Respectfully Submitted, Precious Brady-Davis, Chairperson Committee on Procurement
Disposition of this agenda item will be documented in the official Regular Board Meeting Minutes of the Board of Commissioners for August 14, 2025
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