#14 Negotiate Contract
Most companies have a boiler plate contract that they use with school districts. Your lawyer is going to find something he or she does not like and they are going to want to change it.
1) Get the lawyers talking directly with each other. It is a waste of time for them to pass it through a third party such as yourself or the service providers sales rep.
2) BE SURE IT INCLUDES WORDING THAT RELEASES YOU FROM THE CONTRACT IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE E-RATE FUNDING.
3) BE SURE IT INCLUDES A PRICE REDETERMINATION OPTION EVERY TWO YEARS. Service providers are bound by E-Rate rules to proved you with the services for the lowest price they offer in your area for the same services. The exception is for a multi year contract once signed, will bind you the contract pricing. If you do not have the clause, you will not be in a position to get that better pricing during the contract term .
4) If your RFP and your 470 included a voluntary extension, be sure that is in your contract as well.
5) Specify a service response time and include penalty for not meeting that response time.
As you pass documents back and forth, it is nice to be able to easily see what has been changed from one version to the next. This is a free Web site that will allow you to compare documents. It is very useful