ASSD-0402-EDD2700000003-1 | Direct Award - Pantheon, Enterprise Website Hosting Platform

The West Virginia Department of Education is utilizing a Direct Award to secure the Pantheon.io enterprise website hosting platform for its central public website, wvde.us. This procurement is justified by the technical complexity of the existing site architecture, specifically its Solr-based search and caching systems, which would require significant re-engineering to migrate to another provider. To avoid operational risks and potential service outages during the school year, the agency is maintaining its current provider to ensure continuous public access to critical certification services, board policies, and emergency notices. The contract is structured as an Agency Master Agreement with an initial performance period from December 12, 2026, through December 11, 2027, and includes three optional one-year renewals. The scope of work encompasses platform licensing, technical support, and infrastructure tools including a Content Delivery Network, automated backups, and a development/test/live workflow. The vendor must adhere to strict performance standards, including a 99.95 percent uptime SLA, a 24-hour Recovery Point Objective, and a 48-hour Recovery Time Objective. Compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 accessibility standards is mandatory. Key administrative requirements include maintaining at least 1 million dollars in commercial general liability insurance, adhering to FERPA privacy regulations, and complying with the School Access Safety Act for any personnel entering school facilities. Payments are generally processed Net 30 via electronic funds transfer or P-Card, though software subscriptions may be paid annually in advance.