PURCHASING DEPARTMENT'S ADMINISTRATIVE MANUAL (AF 3325)

Authorization of Processes

Washoe County School District's Purchasing Department is authorized by the Board of Trustees to oversee procurement and contract review and approval per Board Policies 3320 and 3321. All purchasing activities are centralized under the immediate supervision of the Director of Procurement & Contracts and will be conducted in compliance with Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapters 332 and 338 and by the interpretations of the law as specified by authorized legal counsel.

Responsibilities and Objectives

It is the responsibility of the Director of Procurement & Contracts to establish standards of quality consistent with the principles of obtaining the best quality, delivery, timeliness, appropriate product(s), prices, and supplier(s).

To achieve this action, the Purchasing Department has been charged by the Board of Trustees and Superintendent with the responsibility for the following:

• Secure competitive bids whenever possible to obtain maximum value from the expenditure of District funds.

• Maintain liaison with suppliers who service the District's needs.

• Coordinate the procurement of supplies, equipment, products, and services that meet all District requirements.

• Develop sources of supply to assure that the District has an adequate number of dependable suppliers from which to obtain supplies, equipment, products, and services.

Washoe County School District's Purchasing Department has been assigned to maintain an adequate inventory for its Central (Main) Warehouse with furniture, equipment, and supplies commonly used by all schools and departments. The purpose of the warehouse is to allow for volume purchases of commonly and frequently used items, to take advantage of improved pricing, and to have materials on hand when needed.

Support of the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Emerging Small Business (ESB) Program

An applicant seeking certification as a Local Emerging Small Business in the State of Nevada must submit a complete application to the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Failure of a business to disclose information in the application, or the submission of a materially incomplete application, may be grounds for a delay in the certification of the business or denial of the certification. Submission of a falsified application may subject the applicant to civil and criminal liabilities. Click here for the Directory of Nevada Certified Emerging Small Businesses. For full program details go to: https://goed.nv.gov/programs-incentives/emerging-small-business/ 

To qualify as a Local Emerging Small Business, the applicant must:

• Submit a completed application to the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development.

• Be a "Local Business".

• Be in existence, operational, and operating for a profit.

• Maintain its principal place of business in the State of Nevada.

• Comply with all applicable licensing and registration requirements.

• Not be a subsidiary or parent company belonging to a group of firms that are owned or controlled by the same persons if, in aggregate, the group of firms does not qualify according to program requirements.

• Be qualified as either a Tier 1 Local Emerging Small Business or a Tier 2 Local Emerging Small Business.

Expenditure of Funds

All funds deposited with the Washoe County School District, regardless of source, are considered "District funds" and must be handled per District policies, regulations, and procedures. Although schools and departments are allocated funds into their respective budgets for a given period, these allocations are only an authorization to requisition, not to purchase. Please note that making an unauthorized purchase using District funds violates the District's policies, regulations, and procedures. Anyone responsible for such a purchase may be held personally responsible for the payment of the said purchase.

Vendor, Supplier, and Contractor Selection

Vendors, suppliers, and contractors are selected for their ability to serve the needs of the District most economically and efficiently possible. Past performance and cooperation are important factors. Vendors must comply with the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Executive Order 11246, as amended) since it is the policy of the District to promote the full realization of equal employment opportunity. Vendors/Suppliers must also comply with all other laws and directives as they are issued.

• Late Solicitation Submissions:  It is the responsibility of a respondent to ensure that their solicitation submission is received by the Purchasing Department no later than the appointed time and date as specified in the solicitation document. Late submissions will not be accepted, considered for evaluation/award, and will be returned unopened to the sender. All submissions will be date and time stamped as verification that they were (or were not) received no later than the appointed date and time.

• Confidentiality of Submissions:  Solicitation submissions are given to the Purchasing Department in confidence and shall not be revealed to any other vendor/supplier or unauthorized person before the appointed time and date of award recommendation. At that time, prices and terms become part of the public record and are available to any person or business seeking review and/or expressing interest in receiving them. All Public Records Request (Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests) are to be submitted in writing to Washoe County School District's Office of General Counsel at: legal@washoeschools.net.

• Lowest Responsive and Responsible Respondent:  All responsive (valid) and responsible solicitation submissions shall be considered for solicitation award. The District may take into consideration delivery, terms and conditions, discounts, evidence of a valid authorized representative's signature, required forms, and conformity with the specifications when evaluating submissions to be considered "responsive."

• Rejection of Solicitation Submissions:  The District may reject any solicitation submissions and/or waive any informality or irregularity in any submission. In all instances, when sought, the decision rendered by the District's Board of Trustees shall be final.

• Solicitation Openings:  Solicitation openings are public and may be attended by anyone, including those who may not have a direct interest in the solicitation.

• Appealing a Recommendation of Award:  Any unsuccessful respondent may appeal a pending solicitation recommendation of the award before the final award by the Chief Financial Officer or Board of Trustees. Appellant shall submit a written appeal to the Director of Procurement & Contracts no later than five (5) business days after the date of the Recommendation of Award Notice.

Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 332.215 requires purchasing officers in counties whose population exceeds 100,000 to be participants in a local commission to study governmental purchasing. The commission is to meet at least quarterly, study practices in governmental purchasing and laws relating thereto, and make recommendations concerning those laws to the next regular session of the legislature. Washoe County School District has actively participated in the Nevada Public Procurement Study Commission (NPPSC) since its inception. The NPPSC monitors legislative activities while the Legislature is in session, lobbies on issues about public purchasing, provides professional testimony at hearings, and makes recommendations to legislators regarding changes to the Nevada Revised Statutes as they pertain to local governments' procurement and public works practices.

Washoe County School District's Purchasing Department was instrumental in establishing the Northern Nevada Consortium for Cooperative Purchasing (NNCCP) in 1984. The mission behind the NNCCP, which operates as a non-profit organization (Business League) under IRS 503(c)(6), is to promote the sharing of procurement knowledge, expertise, resources, and information electronically and cooperatively within the State of Nevada. NNCCP meets monthly and the group includes various governmental purchasing entities within the State of Nevada including multiple counties, cities, townships, political subdivisions, utilities, general improvement districts, school districts, and colleges. NNCCP provides professional development opportunities to its members and other interested purchasing professionals. Classes and study groups are organized on an as-needed basis, depending on the needs and interests of its members. Members are encouraged to attend classes, workshops, supplier shows, and seminars at local institutions of learning as well as those sponsored by other professional purchasing groups such as the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), NAPM of Northern Nevada, National Purchasing Institute (NPI), National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), California Association of Public Purchasing Officers (CAPPO), and California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO).