ASSD-0402-EDD2600000013-1 | Direct Award - Story Jar Publications LLC

The West Virginia Department of Education has issued a direct award contract to Story Jar Publications LLC for professional development services related to the 2026 TEAMS Conference, scheduled for July 29, 2026, in Charleston, West Virginia. The contract, assigned solicitation number ASSD-0402-EDD2600000013-1 and classified under NAICS code 611430, is a sole-source award justified under Section 9 of the West Virginia Purchasing Handbook for Training Activities, citing the irreplaceable qualifications of vendor Matthew Eicheldinger, who must have a minimum of ten years of classroom teaching experience and national recognition as a bestselling author on the New York Times and USA Today lists. The scope includes delivering a keynote presentation titled “The Teacher Who Wrote It All Down” and two breakout sessions focused on literacy trends and fostering empathetic classroom cultures through authentic, story-based narratives grounded in real educational experience. The total contract value is fixed at $16,000, with no options, extensions, or line-item breakdowns provided, and payment is to be processed through the Department of Education’s finance office in Charleston. No formal FAR clauses, DFARS provisions, or standard contract terms are included in the documentation, and the absence of packaging, marking, inspection criteria, or quality assurance standards reflects the service nature of the procurement, which involves performance rather than physical deliverables. The contract relies entirely on qualitative standards tied to the speaker’s credentials and the impact of their messaging, with no measurable evaluation factors, weightings, or scoring mechanism applied. The sole point of contact for procurement is Michelle L. Childers, and no Contracting Officer’s Representative or technical evaluator is identified. Submission was required through the wvOASIS portal by June 3, 2026, with no competitive process undertaken due to the unique and non-transferable expertise of the vendor. Administrative details such as the payment address, agency code, and procurement folder number are provided, but critical identifiers like the vendor’s UEI, CAGE code, or FEIN are omitted from the record. The contract operates under West Virginia Board of Education Policy 8210, and while the invoice and ship-to addresses are aligned, no FOB terms, delivery schedules, or invoicing system specifications are detailed, underscoring its simplified, directly awarded structure.