Page 36 - The Edge - Summer 2021
P. 36
AASBO SPRING CONFERENCE
BY DON HARRIS
Lila McCleery Larry Larson
How to Deal with Procurement Problems
Dealing with such issues as sole source, gift offers, Larson tackled the dicey issue of a sole source that’s
vendor complaints and conflicts of interest can be time really not a sole source. A letter from a vendor who
consuming and costly for school district procurement claims to be a sole source isn’t enough. Under the
operations, but AASBO members can benefit from best Administrative Code, a contract may be awarded
practices recommended by two experts in the field. for material or service without competition if the
Governing Board determines in writing there is
Lila McCleery, Director of Purchasing, Phoenix only one source. “You must verify all sole source
Union High School District, and Larry Larson, Senior procurements,” Larson said.
Contract Management Specialist, PUHSD, touched
on some of the nagging issues faced by procurement
departments in a breakout session at AASBO’s “Educate vendors that large
virtual Spring Conference on April 8. A prevailing
recommendation for just about any challenge is to gifts raise a lot of red flags.”
–Larry Larson
provide staff with annual training.
Larson suggested looking at the dollar amount of the
proposed sole source, and said it may be faster to
do a quote than it would be to take the sole source
proposal to the Governing Board for approval.
If the board approves, its decision must include
the reason for the procurement need, why there
is only one source available and documentation
that the price is fair and reasonable, Larson said.
If a product or service is received
prior to a purchase order being
issued, and if it was done to avoid
the rules adopted by the state board,
that is considered a class 4 felony.
McCleery strongly recommended
annual training for staff on the
procurement process. Her best
practices: “Offer to go out to your
schools, create a process/policy
for after-the-fact purchases, and
document each purchase thoroughly.”
You need to find out why it happened
and what will be done to prevent it
happening again, she said. It’s also
important to educate vendors on the
proper procurement process.
|
36 THE EDGE SUMMER 2021
