- Policies
- Who is Responsible?
- Conflict of Interest
- Toxic Art Supplies
- Procurement
- Vendor Relations and Responsibility
- Receiving and Returns
- Orders and Services
- Contracts and Agreements
- Requisitions
- Stores Requisitions
- Vendor Requisitions
- Surplus Property Handling
- Mail Handling Procedures
- Obsolete Textbooks
- Print Shop Services
- Useful Documents
Procurement
Methods of Procurement: Methods available to District staff to purchase goods and services generally fall into three categories:
- District Warehouse (Stores Requisitions): Commonly used supplies are ordered from the District Warehouse. This is accomplished by the site or department submitting an electronic Stores Requisition utilizing the Escape financial system directly to the Warehouse.
- Purchase of Non-Stock Items and Services (Vendor Requisitions): If you would like to procure goods not stocked in the warehouse or obtain outside services not provided by District staff, the site or department should submit a properly approved electronic Purchase Requisition utilizing the Escape financial system to the Purchasing Department, which in turn, generates a Purchase Order to the appropriate vendor.
Note: Classroom furniture and technology equipment (computers, printers, etc.) are subject to District Standards and the request should be sent directly to Purchasing to create the requisition in Escape. This can be done by utilizing the Purchasing Request Form and sending via email, fax, or inter-district mail.
- Office Depot: In those instances where the warehouse does not carry the office supplies District staff requires and there is an urgent need, Office Depot may be used to purchase the supplementary items. Vendor delivery for these items, as opposed to the two methods above, will be direct to the site, with next day service for most items.
- Amazon: Under circumstances by which items cannot be obtained elsewhere, Amazon may be utilized for supplemental purchases. Amazon is not to be used as the sole vendor for all site needs. Note that Amazon serves as a clearinghouse for thousands of individual sellers and as such quality and accuracy of descriptions cannot be guaranteed or vetted by the purchasing department. Vendor delivery for these items will be direct to the site. Amazon orders are to be placed through Escape as an online shopping vendor.
Detailed procedures for each of these options are outlined later in this manual.
Comparative Quotes and Bids
To ensure that the School District is obtaining materials and services at the most competitive price, state law requires “comparative shopping” before the purchase is made. The guidelines for comparative shopping vary according to the size of the purchase, ranging from informal price quotes to official, advertised requests for sealed bids. These guidelines are described as follows:
Informal quotes:
- Purchasing reviews each purchase for opportunity to obtain identical products for a better price. Informal quotes will be obtained at the discretion of the Purchasing Department.
Cooperative agreements, State contracts, piggybacks, etc.:
- These types of procurement methods may include existing contracts the Board has authorized the District to utilize that are available from other public entities.
Formal quotes:
- The Purchasing Department may determine it is necessary to obtain multiple formal written quotations for equipment, services, and supplies priced below bid limits. All quotations are to be attached to the purchase requisition.
Advertised bids:
- Purchases that exceed the legal bid limits (currently $60,000 for public works projects and $99,100 for equipment, materials, supplies, and services, except construction services), must go through the advertised bid procedure required by the State of California, unless another authorized procurement method is utilized. The recommended award must then be approved by the Board of Trustees. Advertised bids are handled by the Purchasing Department.
Federally Funded Purchases:
- The procurement of goods or services with federal funds shall be conducted in a manner that provides full and open competition in accordance with district regulations, state laws, and the following requirements:
- Only one quotation is needed for a single micro-purchase if it is less than $10,000 and is considered reasonable. Multiple micro-purchases of the same item that exceed $10,000 in aggregate would no longer qualify as a micro-purchase.
- Small purchases are anything that exceed the micro-purchase threshold of $10,000 but are less than $50,000. For contracts between these thresholds, three competitive quotes must be received.
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- Contact a minimum of three qualified vendors.
- Document each bidder’s quoted price by attaching their response to the requisition.
- Select lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
- If the lowest bid is not recommended for the purchase, an email justification must be either attached to the requisition or an explanation included in the notes section of the requisition.
- Procurement by noncompetitive proposals (sole sourcing) may be used only when the item is available from a single source. A detailed note or email justification must be attached to the requisition showing due diligence that the expenditure in necessary and reasonable.
- Any values that are greater than the $50,000 small purchase threshold will need to go through the purchasing office to start the competitive bid process.
California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (CUPCCAA) Procedures:
- Marysville Joint Unified School District is subject to the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (CUPCCAA) per Public Contract Code Section 22000 et. seq. The Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act provides an option alternative to the standard method by which school districts usually competitively bid on public works projects by allowing for the following:
• Public projects of $60,000 or less can be performed by negotiated contract or by purchase order;
• Public projects of $200,000 or less may be let to contract by the informal procedures set forth in the Act; and
• Public projects that the district anticipates will be more than $200,000 must still be let to contract by formal bidding procedures.
