2020 5411
Non-Instructional/Business Operations
SUBJECT: PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND SERVICES
Purchasing Authority
The District’s purchasing activities will be part of the responsibilities of the Business Office, under the general supervision of the Purchasing Agent designated by the Board. The Purchasing Agent is authorized to enter into cooperative bidding and cooperative purchasing arrangements to meet the various needs of the District. No contracts for goods and services will be made by individuals or organizations in the school that involve expenditures without first securing approval for the contract from the Purchasing Agent.
Except as authorized by law, no Board member or employee of the District will have an interest in any contract entered into by the District.
Purchasing Process
The Board recognizes its responsibility to ensure the development of procedures for the procurement of goods and services not required by law to be made pursuant to competitive bidding requirements. These goods and services will be procured in a manner so as to:
- Assure the prudent and economical use of public moneys in the best interests of the taxpayer;
- Facilitate the acquisition of goods and services of maximum quality at the lowest possible cost under the circumstances; and
- Guard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud, and corruption.
These procedures will contain, at a minimum, provisions which:
- Prescribe a process for determining whether a procurement of goods and services is subject to competitive bidding and if it is not, documenting the basis for such determination;
- With certain exceptions, provide that alternative proposals or quotations for goods and services will be secured by use of written request for proposals, written quotations, verbal quotations, or any other method of procurement which furthers the purposes of General Municipal Law Section 104-b;
- Set forth when each method of procurement will be utilized;
- Require adequate documentation of actions taken with each method of procurement;
- Require justification and documentation of any contract awarded to other than the lowest responsible dollar offer, stating the reasons;
- Set forth any circumstances when, or the types of procurement for which, the solicitation of alternative proposals or quotations will not be in the best interest of the District; and
- Identify the individual or individuals responsible for purchasing and their respective titles. This information will be updated biennially.
Any unintentional failure to fully comply with these provisions will not be grounds to void action taken or give rise to a cause of action against the District or any District employee.
The District will develop administrative regulations to establish procedures for the procurement of goods and services.
Professional Services
Professional services are generally those services that require specialized skills, training, professional judgment, expertise, and creativity. Examples include attorneys, architects, and engineers. The procurement of professional services falls within an exception to competitive bidding. In order to procure professional services, the District will use the request for proposals (RFP) process as set forth in General Municipal Law in order to protect the District’s interests and to avoid the appearance of favoritism or impropriety. Although not necessarily bound to select the lowest bidder in response to its RFP, the District will adequately document its selection process to demonstrate its economical and prudent use of public monies and to ensure fair competition.
- Education Law §§ 1604, 1709, 1950, 2503, 2554, and 3602
- General Municipal Law Articles 5-A and 18
- General Municipal Law §§ 104-b and 119-o
NOTE: Refer also to Policies
- #5410 — Purchasing: Competitive Bidding and Offering
- #5412 — Alternative Formats for Instructional Materials
- #5413 — Procurement: Uniform Grant Guidance for Federal Awards
Adopted: 5/23/17
Revised: 9/22/20