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HCAA-AP: Purchasing

All purchases made on behalf of the District shall be executed in a fair, equitable, and legal manner using a process that helps ensure the best value for the District and its taxpayers.  The purpose of this policy and accompanying regulation is to establish such procedures.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A PURCHASING SYSTEM

The Board delegates overall purchasing authority to the Business Manager who shall serve as the district’s chief procurement officer.  The chief procurement officer shall be responsible for developing and administering the purchasing program of the District, including the development and implementation of a requisition and purchasing system that is efficient, economical, and meets the standards below.  A complete purchasing record system shall be maintained by the chief procurement officer.   Purchasing guidelines and procedures for district staff shall be maintained within the district’s Purchasing Procedure Guide.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PURCHASE

  1. All purchases must conform to all applicable state laws, including, but not limited to, laws prohibiting disclosure of confidential and proprietary information.
  2. All parties involved in purchasing shall act in good faith, and purchases at all levels shall be made in a manner and form that permits the highest degree of fair competition possible.
  3. All purchases must be documented through the purchase card (p-card) system, a purchase order, contract, invoice, or receipt.  All records of purchases must be submitted to the chief procurement officer or other district employees as delegated by the chief procurement officer.
  4. Procurement requirements may not be artificially fragmented as to constitute a small purchase or to avoid competitive purchasing requirements.  Artificial fragmentation means splitting purchase requirements or splitting an invoice to stay below a certain dollar level to avoid competition or stay within delegated authority limits.  Fragmentation must be based on an actual need of the District, and documentation of this need shall be filed with the procurement officer.
  5. If purchases are made using restricted funds (e.g., grant dollars), purchases must conform to any requirements associated with those funds.
  6. Purchases requiring contracts must comply with the contracting standards contained in this policy and in law.

PURCHASING AUTHORITY THRESHOLDS

To determine the appropriate purchasing authority threshold, an estimate must be made.  Estimated price may be based upon previous purchases, market research, a published price list, or asking a vendor for a budgetary estimate.

  1. P-Cards: The chief procurement officer is authorized to implement a purchase card system.  While most purchases with p-cards shall conform to the purchasing standards contained in this policy, the chief procurement officer is authorized to make exceptions to this policy as follows.  The chief procurement officer may issue cards to school staff not listed in this policy, ensuring that their cards have adequate spending caps in place given the nature of their positions and may waive specification and solicitation requirements for p-card purchases for items/services that are difficult or impossible to obtain through competitive purchasing (e.g., travel expenses).
  2. Purchases $5,000 and below:  Schools or departments should make attempts for fair and reasonable sourcing of goods and services, but are not required to obtain formal quotes. Factors to consider would be previous purchases/history with vendor, delivery/shipment/installation requirements, vendor pricing (based off obtained verbal or written quotes or published price lists), and information gained through market research. It is important to make decisions that are in the best interest of the district.
  3. Purchases $5,000.01 to $49,999.99:  Schools or departments must attempt to obtain at least three formal written quotes. If three quotes cannot be obtained, written justification must be provided to the chief procurement officer or department head. Authorization is required PRIOR to submitting a PO when less than three vendor quotes have been obtained. The chief procurement officer shall have authority to grant exceptions to this policy under circumstances that would not be administratively practical to receive multiple quotes.
  4. Purchases over $50,000: These purchases shall only be made in accordance with NDCC 15.1-09-34.

Delegation of Purchasing Authority when Conflict of Interest Declared

In the event that an individual with purchasing authority has a conflict of interest under law, s/he shall contact the chief procurement officer who shall appoint another qualified district employee without a conflict to oversee the procurement process of the good/service at issue.

PURCHASES REQUIRING CONTRACTS

Any purchase in excess of $10,000 requiring a contract with a vendor/seller shall be approved by the Board prior to execution. When a vendor/seller supplies the contract, it shall be reviewed by the chief procurement officer and the Superintendent, and recommendations made to the Board prior to approval.

The District shall not enter into contracts containing indemnity clauses and additional insured status when these clauses will benefit another party.

UNAUTHORIZED PURCHASES

All debts that are results of purchases made on behalf of the district shall be assumed by the board, as long as those purchases follow the guidelines within this policy. Any and all debts incurred from unauthorized purchases may at the discretion of the chief procurement officer become the responsibility of the employee that made the purchase.

Adopted: 07/01/19

Reviewed:

Revised: 11/30/20