DOA Seeks Comment on Draft BadgerNet RFP
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | December 23, 2014
FROM DOA:
December 22, 2014
The Wisconsin Department of Administration, Division of Enterprise Technology, is preparing to send out a Request for Proposal (RFP) to replace the current BadgerNet Converged Network (BCN). The current contract for the BCN expires October 31, 2016.
Prior to releasing the RFP, the State is publishing a draft version of the document and its attachments to offer interested parties an opportunity to provide the State with input on the draft documents, and for potential vendors, an opportunity to determine their ability to respond to the final RFP.
A draft is now available on VendorNet here.
The goals of the new BCN are to provide a future-proofed network with more bandwidth, less cost, and enhanced security and reliability. The existing BCN is a dedicated high-reliability, low-latency network that has served the state well since 2005. The state is beginning the process of soliciting proposals for a replacement network to meet the stated goals and requirements for E-rate funding.
A customer survey was conducted in April 2014 and the results clearly indicated that customers almost universally desired more bandwidth at significantly lower prices. A second concern was lack of available options in rural areas of the state.
In order to reduce cost and increase availability, the desire is to procure service on an open network design using commercially available services and not expensive dedicated network resources. The RFP also attempts to structure service classes to allow more Internet service providers an opportunity to compete. It is our hope that by fostering competition, eliminating dedicated resources, using commercially available offerings, and attracting more providers, we can reduce prices and have more options for providing service to underserved areas.
We are also soliciting services across a broader spectrum to allow users to select the class of service that best fits their needs. Highly secure, low latency, proactively monitored services are available for those who have legal and mission-critical needs for that service. For those that need less rigid performance requirements, we are soliciting commercially available services using any technology that will provide an economical solution.
Any comments and input regarding the draft RFP should be submitted using the following timeframe, method and format:
· Responses to the requested information should be returned no later than Friday, January 9, 2015 at 2:00:00 p.m. CT.
· Comments must be returned electronically to andrea.welch@wisconsin.gov .
· Responses should be organized and presented in the order and by the numbers assigned in the draft RFP using the following format.
| Document Title | Section # | Section Title | Comment |
| (example) RFP | 1.11 | Calendar of Events | |
| (example) Attachment C | Worksheet | Fees & Surcharges |
Many thanks in advance for your time and effort in assisting the State of Wisconsin in putting together a clear and concise final RFP for BCN Managed Network Services. We look forward to receiving your input.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Schools Can Bill Medicaid for More Services
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | December 23, 2014
Education Week reported late last week that advocates for school-administered student health services say new guidance issued by a federal agency this week will allow schools to bill Medicaid for more services they provide to students. Those additional reimbursements could help bolster tight budgets for school-health programs, allowing them to provide more services, such as immunizations, mental health care, and screenings for conditions like asthma, advocates say.
Read more here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Walker Modifies Common Core Position
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | December 17, 2014
?From WisPolitics.com …
Governor Scott Walker said today he now wants legislation that would repeal any requirement for local school districts to follow Common Core, while still allowing those that are using the standards to keep them.
Republicans drafted legislation this session that would create a state panel to devise an alternative to Common Core, but it did not clear the legislature.
Walker said as talks have progressed, he believes it makes more sense to “say no mandate” and repeal any language in administrative code or statutes requiring local boards to follow Common Core.
He said some districts have complained they’ve already moved forward with implementation of Common Core. This approach, he said, would give them the freedom to do so while allowing a debate at the local level on what standards to follow without an edict from the state.
“Schools should be able to make those decisions where they can hear from parents and local taxpayers and others at the local level and not have that dictated to them either by groups or outside the state or in many ways even at the state level,” he said.
“I believe in high standards. I just don’t believe they should be set by people outside of the state of Wisconsin.”
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Former Employees Cast Doubt on Voucher School
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | December 16, 2014
Erin Richards of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has followed up with another enlightening article on embattled voucher school Ceria M. Travis Academy.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Voucher School Faces Penalty Unless Improvements Made
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | December 9, 2014
?As reported by Erin Richards of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a long-standing voucher school operator is under orders from the state to shape up her organization’s reporting processes and meet other requirements or face getting kicked out of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.
The founder of Ceria M. Travis Academy suggests that DPI is the “bad guy” in this case. Travis Academy has missed four state deadlines for submitting financial documents in recent years. By state law, that is grounds for removal from the program.
Here are a couple more interesting facts taken from the article:
” . . . just 2% of students at Ceria M. Travis Academy were proficient in reading in fall 2013, according to the most recent statewide test score results. The average reading proficiency for voucher schools in 2013 was about 12%.”
Dorothy Travis Moore’s “total compensation was $218,000 in 2012, according to the most recent federal filings for the nonprofit.”
See the article here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »