3205    Purchasing Policies

Fiscal Management/Purchasing

Each year, the School Department enters into contracts for the purchase of office, art and other school supplies and services.  It is a requirement that the purchase of these items will be made through School Department contracts.  For a contract list contact the Purchasing Department.

All School Department vendors are required to obtain a fully completed hard copy of a Purchase Order prior to order processing.

Any Department Head or Administrator can initiate a request for a purchase (request for a PO).  School Department policies should be reviewed for revisions prior to initiating a request for purchase.  A purchase order should be completed, following the guidelines listed below, listing all relevant information (vendor, ship to address, date, building administrator’s signature, quantities of items/services to be purchased, description of items/services to be purchased, unit cost, total cost, shipping cost, and total cost of the entire purchase order).  The purchase order is then sent to Administration for the approval by the Purchasing Agent and Business Manager.

$50.00 to $999.99: The requesting party will competitively shop to insure the vendor selected is the best value for the School Department.  When a negotiated contract exists, it will be used unless a lower price is documented.  The PO is then subject to the approval of the Purchasing Agent and Business Manager.

$1,000.00 to $3,999.99: Purchases are to be submitted for at least three written quotations of like items.

A.      Written quotations are attached to the purchase order being submitted for approval.

B.      Written quotations are subject to the approval of the purchasing agent.

$4,000.00 and above: All purchases of $4,000.00 and above are to be submitted for competitive bids and must be advertised at least one day in a paper having general circulation in the community.

A.      All bids are to be received sealed.

B.      Bids will be publicly opened.

C.      Bids will be reviewed, and a recommendation will be made to the School Committee.

D.      The School Committee will approve or disapprove the recommendation.

Classroom text books are specific in nature and are ordered in required quantities, therefore the purchase of classroom texts are considered a sole source purchase.

The South Kingstown School Department does not reimburse for purchases of office supplies, art supplies, technology related supplies/repairs, or any other items, services or supplies that can be purchased through normal purchasing procedures.  For more information on reimbursable purchases, see Policy #3330 Travel Regulations and Reimbursements.

Purchase orders for accounts with insufficient funds to cover the expenditure must be accompanied with a Budget Transfer Request to allow for the encumbrance of funds.

Purchase orders with specific payment terms, such as for conferences, must be submitted at least three weeks in advance to allow for processing and payment.

Purchase orders for items with periodic payment schedules (leases, equipment leases and service agreements) should be submitted at the start of each fiscal year for the full amount.  This will allow the Finance Department to encumber the entire the amount of the entire request.  Partial payment requests should then be submitted as invoices are received.  This will reduce the number of purchase orders processed and will allow a more accurate view of the School Department’s financial position.

Policy adopted: 1/24/72

Revised: 8/25/81 Adopted: 9/8/81

Revised (Section III _ to $50.00) _ 3/13/84

Revised: 10/18/88

Revised: 4/10/01 Adopted: 6/12/01

Revised: 11/18/03