6320 - PURCHASING

Elk Rapids Schools

Bylaws & Policies

6320 - PURCHASING

The Board of Education is legally responsible for the selection and purchase of all necessary school supplies and equipment. In order to facilitate the efficient operation of the school program the Board empowers the Superintendent to purchase certain items or classes of items, included in the approved annual budget of the district, without further Board approval. All other expenditures for or by the District shall require Board approval prior to such expenditure.

Under this policy the Superintendent's purchasing powers shall include the purchase, within current remaining budget allocations,:

	A.	Of consumable items which are used repeatedly and regularly in the day to day operation of the school program;
	B.	Of capital goods items which singly or in the aggregate for a single project amount to not more than what is determined by state code;
	C.	Of capital goods items within an amount which is included in school improvement programs which have been budgeted and approved by the Board.

The Superintendent may make purchases of goods and/or services needed in an emergency to keep the schools in operation regardless of any budget considerations. Such purchases shall be brought to the Board's attention at the next regular meeting. Except for such emergency expenditures the Superintendent may not make purchases without prior Board approval if purchase of the goods or services was not contemplated during the budgeting process, or if the money spent would exceed the budget limitation of the account against which the purchase is to be debited to such an extent that the excess cannot be reasonably accommodated by the periodic minor budget adjustments required by this Board and State law.

6320.1	Competitive Purchasing Bids

	When the purchase and/or contract for single items of supplies, equipment, materials or services amounts to more than $10,000.00 the Superintendent shall obtain competitive bids, unless in his/her opinion the solicitation of such bids is, or is likely to be wasteful of time and resources, inexpedient, unfair to qualified potential supplies, or not likely to produce any significant financial savings for the District.

	Bids shall be sealed and opened by the Superintendent in the presence of at least one (1) witness. All orders or contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, but consideration may be given to:

	A.	The quality of the item(s) to be supplied;

	B.	Conformity with the bid specifications;

	C.	The suitability of the products to the requirements of the District;

	D.	The terms of delivery;

	E.	The past performance of the vendor;

	F.	Whether or not the vendor pays taxes to the District.

	The Superintendent may award orders or contracts as a consequence of competitive bids for all goods and services which he/she is empowered to purchase for the District, or may reject any and all bids. The Board shall be informed of the terms and conditions of all other competitive bids and shall award orders or contracts as a consequence of such bids. The Board also reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

	In order to obtain the lowest cost consistent with good quality the Superintendent may periodically estimate the District needs for consumable items or classes of such items and make quantity purchases of such items on a bid basis.

	Whenever storage facilities or other conditions make it impractical to receive total delivery at any one time, the total quantity to be shipped, but with staggered delivery dates, shall be made a part of the bid specifications.

6320.2	Purchasing Business Practices

	In the interests of economy, fairness and efficiency in its business dealings the Board requires that:

	A.	Opportunity be provided to as many responsible suppliers as possible to do business with the District;

	B.	Whenever the requisitioner has recommended a supplier, the Superintendent may make alternative suggestions to the requisitioner if, in his/her judgment, better service, economy, delivery or utility can be achieved by changing the proposed supplier;

	C.	Upon the placement of a purchase order the District's bookkeeper shall commit the expenditure against a specific line item in the District accounting system in order to guard against the creation of liabilities in excess of appropriations.

	The Board may acquire office equipment, as defined in law, by lease, by installment payments, by entering into lease-purchase agreements or by lease with an option to purchase, provided that the contract sets forth the specific terms of the lease or purchase.

M.C.L.A. 380.1267, 380.1274 et seq.

Revised 10/11/99
Revised 5/8/00