6090 - Purchasing Authority
6090 - Purchasing Authority
The Board of Education shall annually appoint a Purchasing Agent for the school district. The Purchasing Agent will be responsible for administering all purchasing activities and ensuring the quality and quantity of purchases made by the district. All purchases shall be made through the Purchasing Agent. Only the Purchasing Agent may commit the district to a purchase.
The Purchasing Agent is authorized to issue purchase orders without prior approval of the Board when competitive bidding procedures are not required by law and budget appropriations are adequate to cover such obligations.
The Purchasing Agent is authorized to approve expenditures in excess of an initial purchase order, for goods based upon contractual terms or those specified on the original purchase order, by an amount not to exceed $5,000 in the aggregate, to address valid changes in shipping costs, substitution of products due to item availability, unit price adjustments or another valid reason under competitive bidding. For such amounts in excess of $5,000, Board approval shall be required. Purchase orders for goods purchased on public bid contracts authorized by General Municipal Law Section 103 (eg. District, BOCES, State OGS, etc.) may be increased based on additional unit quantities or products in accordance with the underlying bid and prior to an order being placed.
For Professional Services, requests for payments in excess of the amount set forth in a purchase order, accepted proposal or contract are subject to Board of Education approval if 1) the underlying contract required Board of Education approval in accordance with Policy 6085, or 2) if the total expense to be incurred with the service provider/vendor would have otherwise required Board of Education approval under Policy 6085. Exceptions shall exist for the actual costs of services that exceed the tuition contract amount in the case of an out of District special education student placement or Section 504 student placement, expenses as prescribed in an IEP or 504 Plan, reimbursable expenses paid to architects/engineers in accordance with approved contracts and for hourly litigation services as described under an annual retainer agreement between the District and its school attorneys.
The amount of a purchase order shall not be exceeded when the purchase has been secured for a fixed cost through competitive bidding pursuant to the provisions of General Municipal Law §103. All purchase order overrides shall be subject to the approval of the Purchasing Agent and at the request of the Building Principal, Director or Central Office Administrator where the goods have been received or the services have been performed.
The Purchasing Agent shall be responsible for preparing all bid specifications and a statement of general bidding conditions to be included in every notice or invitation to bid. If there are questions concerning specifications, the Purchasing Agent will consult with the requisitioner to clarify the matter so as to ensure that the appropriate goods or services are obtained. The Board of Education shall approve the awarding of all purchases resulting from competitive bidding at a Board meeting.
Where the District uses a Request for Proposals (RFP) for professional services and other purposes permitted by law, the Board of Education shall approve the awarding of the RFP at a Board meeting.
Purchase Orders
All purchasing must be done by the Purchasing Agent on an official purchase order. A purchase order must be issued prior to placing an order or providing services, including sufficient detail. All purchase orders shall be issued for a given fiscal year or for a longer duration when it is anticipated that the duration of the work to be performed or the time for receiving goods may exceed the end of the fiscal year in which the initial purchase order is issued. In July of each new fiscal year, the Purchasing Agent will provide a report to the Superintendent of Schools of all purchase orders that extended beyond the end of the previous fiscal year.
In the event that the work to be performed will require performance of services in a subsequent fiscal year, the initial purchase order shall be renewed (carried over) for the subsequent fiscal year with the amount adjusted for payments made during the preceding fiscal year.
In the event that the initial amount of the purchase order needs to be exceeded, the request for payment shall not be released to the Claims Auditor until they include a memo from the Purchasing Agent and a sign-off by the supervisor and/or Building Principal, Director, or Assistant Superintendent in which the services were performed and the goods received. The Claims Auditor shall initial the memo prior to authorizing payment to the contractor or vendor.
The District will not exceed previously authorized expenditures by the Board of Education in excess of $5,000 in the aggregate without Board approval.
No override of a purchase order shall be approved for payment without the authorization of the purchasing agent in writing and processing in accordance with the terms of Policy 6090. The District’s electronic accounting system shall be modified to prevent the unauthorized override of purchase orders.
Cross-Ref:
Ref:
- Education Law §1709(20-a)
- General Municipal Law §104-b(2)(f)
Adopted by Board of Education: December 4, 2007
Revised:
May 5, 2021
May 19, 2022