FCDL Comment:
DR1:This FRN is denied because it has been determined that the service provider selected for the FRN, Heartland Business Systems (HBS), assisted with the development of services requested on an FCC Form 470 and Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the applicant. Specifically, both the Form 470 and RFP contain a detailed list of equipment, including a request for "HBS-FF-Service HBS - Professional Services - Fixed Fee Labor". During the review process it was acknowledged that the list of equipment included in both the Form 470 and RFP was developed after discussions with HBS. E-rate rules pertaining to open and fair competition state that all bidders must be treated the same and that no bidder can have advance knowledge of the project information. The joint actions performed by the school district and HBS violate these tenets and the FRN is denied.||MR1:The FRN was modified from $17,500.00 to $16,641.59 to agree with the applicant documentation.