Stevensville School District

NONINSTRUCTIONAL OPERATIONS

Procurement Policy for School Food Purchases

The Stevensville School District will adhere to the following requirements for any procurement related to food service:

Purchases: 

  • Purchases greater than $80,000:
  • If the aggregate amount exceeds eighty thousand dollars ($80,000), the contract must be awarded through a formal bid process and a call for bids or request for proposals shall be published according to 20-9-204, MCA. No contract shall be divided for the purpose of avoiding the formal procurement process.
  • The District may enter into a cooperative purchasing contract for procurement of supplies with one or more districts or a Cooperative Services Program. This allows the District to participate in a cooperative purchasing group to purchases supplies through the group without bidding if the cooperative purchasing group has a publicly available master list of items available with pricing included and provides an opportunity at least twice yearly for any vendor, including a Montana vendor, to compete, based on a lowest responsible bidder standard.
  • Purchases great than $25,000 and less than $80,000:
  • Any purchase greater than $25,000 and less than eighty thousand ($80,000) will be handled in a fair and equitable manner consistent with district policy on purchasing.
  • The Stevensville School District will obtain two or more estimates when any purchase will cost more than $25,000 and less than eighty thousand ($80,000).
  • The District may enter into a cooperative purchasing contract for procurement of supplies with one or more districts or a Cooperative Services Program. This allows the District to participate in a cooperative purchasing group to purchases supplies through the group without bidding if the cooperative purchasing group has a publicly available master list of items available with pricing included and provides an opportunity at least twice yearly for any vendor, including a Montana vendor, to compete, based on a lowest responsible bidder standard.

Identical bid specifications and/or request for proposals will be provided to all potential vendors.

Geographic Preference:
No Geographic Preference (advantage based on location) is allowed with federal funds except for documented Farm to School (Farm to Plate) efforts.  Therefore, as part of Farm to School Stevensville District may choose to apply a geographic preference when procuring unprocessed locally grown or locally raised agricultural products only.

Standards of Conduct for District Employees:

  • The Stevensville School District maintains the following code of conduct for any employees engaged in award and administration of contracts supported by Federal Funds:
  • No District employee will engage in any procurement when there is a conflict of interest, real or perceived, and District employees cannot solicit or accept any gratuities, favors or anything of monetary value from prospective vendors. This shall not preclude district personnel from serving on boards or participating in organizations that support the district’s need to obtain quality services and supplies.
  • No District employee shall participate in the selection, award or administration of a contract when any of the following persons have a financial interest in the firm selected for award:
    • The employee
    • Any member of his/her immediate family
    • People with whom there is an intimate personal relationship
    • An organization which employs or is about to employ any of the above
  • The District would like all employees to behave with the utmost integrity and never be self-serving, be fair in all aspects of the procurement process, be alert to conflicts of interest, and avoid any compromising situations.
  • Employees found to be in violation of this policy are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Policy History:
Adopted on: March 13, 2018
Reviewed on: February 13, 2018
Revised on: