Page 18 - AASBO EDGE Fall 2021 WEB

PROCUREMENT

BY BILL MUNCH, CPPO, CPPB
What Vendors Should Know About

Cooperative Contracts
Bill Munch

There are over 25 purchasing cooperatives structure of the co-op you are working with
out there that may be available to school to maximize the benefits for the school
districts in Arizona. Most districts use about district. All cooperatives other than GPPCS
a half dozen co-ops. Cooperative contracts and SAVE charge an administrative fee to
must be administered by public procurement the vendor which is passed onto the school
units. The State Procurement Office (State district for every purchase made off of the
Contract) is still the only cooperative cooperative contract.
required by Arizona law to make contracts
available to political subdivisions that In order for an Arizona school district to utilize
include school districts. a cooperative contract, there are two major
steps the district must take – and vendors
Mohave Educational Services Cooperative should be aware of these requirements.
is a nonprofit corporation pursuant to These requirements apply to every purchase
ARS 11-952 and 41-2632. Mohave is a from a cooperative contract, regardless of
public procurement unit that can award dollar amount. No procurement threshold
contracts directly for its members. The applies.
Greater Phoenix Purchasing Consortium
of Schools (GPPCS) and Strategic Alliance First, before a school district can utilize
for Volume Expenditure (SAVE) are formed a cooperative contract, it must perform
by cooperative purchasing agreements due diligence on the procurement that was
signed by each member school district or completed and resulted in the award of said
other public entity. GPPCS and SAVE do contract. Due diligence is the process of
not issue the bids or proposals. Instead, a obtaining documentation evidencing that the
public entity member of GPPCS or SAVE procuring entity obtained contracts pursuant
will act as the lead entity and administer the to the School District Procurement Rules.
cooperative procurement and subsequent As long as the school district confirms, the
contract. procurement is compliant and the district
can consider using contracts from that
Many national co-ops like 1GPA partner cooperative procurement.
with public procurement units to act as lead
entities in order to make their contracts Keep in mind the due diligence process
available to their members. Some national could vary from school district to school
co-ops are public procurement units with district. The Auditor General advised,
no need to partner with a lead entity. It is “School districts must use their judgment
important to understand organizational in determining the appropriate amount

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18 THE EDGE FALL 2021