The Board of Education views purchasing as serving the educational program by providing necessary supplies, equipment and related services. Purchasing will be centralized in the business office under the general supervision of the Purchasing Agent designated by the Board of Education.
It is the goal of the Board to purchase competitively, without prejudice or favoritism, and to seek the maximum educational value for every dollar expended. Competitive bids or quotations shall be solicited in connection with purchases pursuant to law. The General Municipal Law requires that purchase contracts for materials, equipment and supplies involving an estimated annual expenditure exceeding $20,000 and public work contracts involving an expenditure of more than $35,000 will be awarded by the Board only after responsible bids have been received in response to a public advertisement soliciting formal bids. Similar procurements to be made in a fiscal year will be grouped together for the purpose of determining whether a particular item must be bid.
Goods and services which are not required by law to be procured by the district through competitive bidding will be procured in a manner so as to ensure the prudent and economical use of public monies. This will facilitate the acquisition of goods and services of maximum quality at the lowest possible cost under the circumstances, and to guard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption.
Alternative proposals or quotations will be secured by requests for proposals, written or verbal quotations or any other appropriate method of procurement, except for the procurements:
- through the use of a contract issued by the United States of America or any agency thereof, any state or any other county or political subdivision or district therein, if such contract was issued in a manner that constitutes competitive bidding consistent with the state law and made available for use by other governmental entities; or
- of articles manufactured in State correctional institutions; or
- from agencies for the blind and severely disabled.
The district’s purchasing activity will strive to meet the following objectives:
- to effectively supply all administrative units in the school system with needed materials, supplies, and contracted services;
- to obtain materials, supplies and contracted services at the lowest prices possible consistent with the quality and standards needed as determined by the Purchasing Agent in cooperation with the requisitioning authority. The educational welfare of the students is the foremost consideration in making any purchase;
- to ensure that all purchases fall within the framework of budgetary limitationsand that they are consistent with the educational goals and programs of the district;
- to maintain an appropriate and comprehensive accounting and reporting system to record and document all purchasing transactions; and
- to ensure, through the use of proper internal controls, that loss and/or diversion of district property is prevented.
Opportunities shall be provided to all responsible suppliers to do business with the school district. Suppliers whose place of business is situated within the district may be given preferential consideration only when bids or quotations on an item or service are identical as to price, quality and other factors. Purchases will be made through the use of a contract issued by the United States of America or any agency thereof, any state or any other county or political subdivision or district therein if such contract was issued in a manner that constitutes competitive bidding consistent with state law and made available for use by other governmental entities. In addition, the district may make purchases from correctional institutions and severely disabled persons through charitable or non-profit- making agencies, as provided by law.
- The Purchasing Agent will provide justification and documentation of any contract awarded to an offeror other than the lowest responsible dollar offeror, setting forth the reasons why such award is in the best interests of the district and otherwise furthers the purposes of section 104-b of the General Municipal Law.
The Purchasing Agent will not be required to secure alternative proposals or quotations for:
- emergencies, as that term is defined under General Municipal Law Section 103(4), where time is a crucial factor as determined by the Board of Education (or its designee).
- procurements for which there is no possibility of competition (sole source items);
- procurements of professional services which, because of the confidential nature of the services do not lend themselves to procurement through solicitation; or
- very small procurements when solicitations of competition would not be cost- effective.
- district purchases through the contracts of (or “piggybacks” onto) other governmental entities as authorized by law, for certain goods and services permitted by law. Factors relevant to the decision to “piggyback” may include cost, staff time, delivery arrangements, quality of goods and services, and suitability of such goods and services to the district’s needs.
- district purchases surplus or second-hand supplies, materials or equipment from the federal or State governments or from any other political subdivision or public benefit corporation within the State.
- separately purchases eggs, livestock, fish and dairy products (other than milk), juice, grains and species of fresh fruits and vegetables directly from New York State producers or growers, or associations of producers and growers, subject to the requirements of General Municipal Law § 103(9) and Commissioner’s Regulations §114.3. The amount expended in any fiscal year by the district may not exceed an amount equal to twenty-five cents multiplied by the number of days in the school year multiplied by the total enrollment of the district.
- separately purchases milk directly from licensed milk processors employing less than forty (40) people. The amount expended in any fiscal year by the district may not exceed an amount equal to twenty-five cents multiplied by the number of days in the school year multiplied by the total enrollment of the district or exceed the current market price.
The Board of Education may from time to time appoint an Ad Hoc Committee to secure proposals for professional services such as internal auditor, financial auditor, and lawyers due to the confidential nature of their services, especially those services that report to the Board of Education.
The Purchasing Agent may issue requests for proposals to solicit professional services such as banking, insurance, architecture or technical services, as requested by district administration.
The Assistant Superintendent for Business, with the assistance of the Purchasing Agent, shall be responsible for the establishment and implementation of the procedures and standard forms for use in all purchasing and related activities in the district. Such procedures shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations of the State and the Commissioner of Education.
No Board member, officer or employee of the school district shall have an interest in any contract entered into by the Board or the district, as provided in Article 18 of the General Municipal Law.
The unintentional failure to fully comply with the provisions of section 104-b of the General Municipal Law or the district’s policies regarding procurement will not be grounds to void action taken or give rise to a cause of action against the district or any officer or employee of the district.
Cross-ref:
2160, School Board Member Ethics
6670, Petty Cash Accounts
6740, Purchasing Procedures
Ref:
Education Law §§305(14); 1709(9)(14)(22)
General Municipal Law §§100-a; 102; 103; 104-b; 109-a; 801 et seq.
Matter of Exley v. Village of Endicott, 51 NY 2d 426 (1980)
Jered Contracting Corp. v. NYC Transit Authority, 22NY2d 187 (1968)
Matter of Coram Bus Services, 23 EDR 493 (1984)
Matter of Educational Bus Transportation Inc., 15 EDR 1 (1975)
Note: Prior policy, Purchasing, 3320(a), (b)
Adopted: June 29, 1992
Amended: June 22, 1998
Amended: October 26, 2009
Amended: April 26, 2010
Amended: August 25, 2014
Amended: October 24,2016