As a leader, you will likely encounter situations in which you need to purchase goods or services for your school, program or department. In most cases, you will be required to get multiple bids before determining the source of your purchase. This is not to say that you will need to go with the lowest price, but rather that you have followed the process for making a selection.
In this assignment, you will work with your school leader to gain a better understanding of the bidding process where you work and have the opportunity to apply that knowledge to a mock purchase.
Instructions:
1. Meet with your school district financial officer to discuss the bidding process for products and services. Questions to consider during this meeting include:
● Does the district always accept the lowest bid? C.S.: No, there are some other factors when weighing bids that might put one bid above another. Timeline, responsiveness, quality of materials, etc.
● Does the state have any bidding requirements that districts must follow? C.S.: Yes,
● Are there additional considerations in the bidding process? C.S.: Yes, we also look for bid rigging red flags.
Create a flowchart illustrating this process for obtaining bids on one of the following:
● Purchase of classroom sets of laptop computers. ● Purchase of new student and teacher desks for classrooms. ● Repairs for the roof on one of the district’s buildings.