03.046 PROCUREMENT

To ensure fair and open competition in the purchase of needed equipment and supplies, the district shall seek quotes or proposals in the following manner:

Quotes/Requests for Proposals:

• $7,500.00 or less 
  Shall be secured verbally. Purchase order may be approved by the superintendent or superintendent’s designee
• Over $7,500.00 
  Shall be obtained in written form from the supplier. Purchase order may be approved by superintendent or superintendent’s designee. Purchase order or contract must be submitted to the board of education for approval before the award is made.

1. All purchases, which exceed $7,500.00, must be approved by the board of education. The agenda item for all such purchase requests shall include a summary of the quotes received by the school on the item(s) to be purchased. Staff or instructor shall submit a request for program tools, equipment for their office, department, or classroom to the department supervisor. 

2. Employee or Instructor shall meet with the department/program supervisor to consider the need for the specified equipment.

3. Department or program supervisor working with Director of Finance, Deputy Superintendent and/or Superintendent shall determine if funds are available to purchase specified equipment.

4. Department or program supervisor working with the instructor shall define the specifications for the equipment and the quantity of items requested.

5. The Department/Program Supervisor or Instructor shall prepare the equipment list with the exact equipment specifications and will include three (3) viable vendors. If there is a conflict of interest of any kind, the list shall be sent to the Purchasing Agent at least two (2) weeks before the due date for the board meeting to allow sufficient time to request quotes and answer any questions between vendors and the school. The Purchasing Agent shall send the equipment list to the three (3) vendors.

6. Program supervisor (administrator) will be responsible for preparing the board agenda item and presenting the item at the board meeting. Note: If the program supervisor and instructor recommend an item that is not the lowest and is in excess of $7,500.00, they will need to provide justification for the purchase to the board.

7. Once the items have been board approved, the Program Supervisor shall work with the Director of Finance for budget coding/funding and will enter the requisition.

8. After the requisition has been approved and a GPTC purchase order has been issued, the order may be placed.

In the event that quotes were not sought from multiple sources, an explanation will be provided.

Purchases of items for resale through Culinary Arts that do not exceed $20,000.00 do not require approval by the Board of Education. Book orders that do not exceed $20,0000.00 do not require approval by the Board of Education.

Purchases of professional services being reimbursed to GPTC under a state training initiative (TIP, EI, etc.) are exempt from multiple quotes at the client’s request for a specific vendor and the approval of the Director of Business and Industry Services of such vendor.

When it is necessary to ensure the timely progress of a construction project, the Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent/CEO to approve construction change orders up to $40,000 or 10% of any contract, whichever is less. The Superintendent/CEO will report any change orders approved under this authority to the Board at the next regularly scheduled meeting. This report shall include the reason for the need for the change order.

A summary of quotes and/or proposals will be attached to requisition requests and purchase orders.

When an expenditure which, under normal conditions, would require prior board approval has to be made in an emergency situation, an exception is permitted with the following stipulations: Definition: An emergency condition shall be defined as one in which failure to act immediately shall cause appreciable damage to physical facilities or the educational program or endanger the life or health of members of the community or impede the educational mission of the school system. Purchase Order Limitations: In emergency situations, the Superintendent may issue a purchase order without approval of the board.

BIDS

No contract involving an expenditure of more than $100,000 (or any construction management trade contract or subcontract exceeding $50,000) for the purpose of constructing a building or making any improvements or repairs to school buildings (a “Public Construction Contract”) shall be made except upon sealed bids in accordance with the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974, OKLA. STAT. tit. 61, § 101 et seq. (the “Act”). No such contract shall be split into two or more contracts involving sums below this threshold for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of the Act.

The Act does not prohibit the district from erecting a building or making improvements on a force account basis. The term “force account” means the purchase of necessary materials and the use of the district’s regularly employed staff to provide necessary labor.

Public Construction Contracts over $10,000 but under $100,000 may be awarded on the basis of written quotes to the lowest responsible qualified contractor. Public Construction Contracts for less than $10,000 (or less than $25,000 for minor maintenance and repair) may be negotiated with a qualified contractor.

PURCHASING PROCEDURES FOR GENERAL AND BUILDING FUND EXPENDITURES

The day-to-day operation of the school requires large quantities of supplies, equipment, instructional materials, and maintenance items. Due to the large volume of items purchased for a variety of areas, it is imperative from a management standpoint, as well as from a bookkeeping viewpoint, that an orderly system be followed for the expenditure of money. Simply stated, the official policy concerning the expenditure of funds is any school related activity, which requires payment of money (purchasing, renting, previewing, etc. and is initiated by any employee), must be submitted by a purchase requisition, approved by the appropriate administrator, and assigned a purchase order number before the activity is initiated. By law, no item can be purchased with tax monies without prior approval; thus the reason for our purchasing procedures and for our policy of formal reprimand upon violation of these procedures.

In an effort to make the most efficient use of school resources, all intended purchases should be researched to find the best price available for the items required. It is the requisition initiator’s responsibility to order the items once the requisition becomes an approved purchase order. If the item to be purchased is a computer or computer-related hardware, the Director of Information Technology (or designee) will be responsible for ordering the item(s).

When the requisition is converted to a purchase order, this is the authorization for the initiator to proceed with the order. Merchandise will be delivered to the Purchasing Department unless otherwise coordinated. All invoices need to be signed and turned in to Accounts Payable daily. If the requisition is rejected, then the initiator needs to make appropriate corrections and resubmit the requisition to the reviewer.

Building Fund Requisition – A requisition that is assigned to the Building Funds must be reviewed by the director of purchasing and maintenance, director of information technology, or by the Tillman/Kiowa executive director of instructional development. The requisition will be assigned a PO number by the encumbrance clerk.

Interim Authority to Pay Purchase Orders – The Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent interim authority to approve both encumbrance and payment for certain services and purchases arising during the month and requiring payment before the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Such items shall not exceed $7,500.00 in amount and shall then be approved by the Board at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

RATE PROCUREMENT POLICY

In selecting service providers for all eligible goods and/or services for which Universal Service Fund (“ERate”) support will be requested, the Administration shall:

1. Make a request for competitive bids for all eligible goods and/or services for which Universal Service Fund support will be requested and comply with applicable state and local procurement processes.
2. Wait at least four weeks after the posting date of the FCC Form 470 on the USAC Schools and Libraries website before making commitments with the selected service providers.
3. Consider all bids submitted and select the most cost-effective service offering, with price being the primary factor considered. Keep control of the competitive bidding process by not surrendering control to a service provider who is participating in the bidding process and not including service provider contract information on the FCC Forms 470.

E-RATE RECORD RETENTION POLICY

It is the Administration’s policy to retain all E-Rate records for a period of ten years after the last date of service in accordance with FCC Fifth Report and Order (Para. 47, FCC 04-190, and Adopted August 4, 2004).

General Fund Purchases Guidelines

These guidelines have been established to provide guidance when purchasing items with school funds. Not every scenario can be covered here; however, this can serve as a common starting point. We must be prudent managers of our institutional funds. Each purchase could be questioned by our auditor, media members, or any taxpayer. Please reference these questions when deciding to make a purchase.

• What is the purpose? Does it serve an educational or office function?
• Is the purchase legal? Does it follow all statutes and board policies?
  • School Law Book can be found at this link: School Law Book
  • GPTC Board Policies and Procedures can be found at this DOCUMENT
• Does it add value? Does it add value to our mission and purpose?
• Is it ethical?

Oklahoma Statutes Quick Reference

• Requires a public purpose
  • Co-Curricular activities
  • Free public education for High School students
  • Student retention
  • Recruiting new students
• ·                     Prohibited by Law
  • District cannot give gifts to individuals.
  • District cannot make contributions to organizations.
• ·                     Invoices cannot be paid in advance.
  • No deposits.
  • Registrations and airline tickets can be paid in advance.
• ·                     District employees cannot accept an inducement (bribe) to select a Vendor or make a purchase.
  • Game or event tickets
  • Anything over a $25 value.

Reference: OKLA. STAT. tit. 61 § 103
OKLA. STAT. tit. 70 § 9-109