Purchasing and Warehouse

Welcome to the Purchasing Department of Litchfield Elementary School District. We are committed to spending LESD79 taxpayer dollars in the most efficient and effective manner. We invite you to utilize our website for answers to your purchasing questions.

The Purchasing Department is responsible for developing and administering consistent, fair and effective purchasing practices while providing service to all Litchfield Elementary District schools and departments. Its goal is to obtain the maximum value for every dollar spent while complying with the procurement policies set forth by the LESD79 Governing Board, the Arizona Administrative Code, the Uniform System of Financial Records, and Arizona Revised Statutes. All purchases that involve public money are subject to the purchasing thresholds and procedures based on these thresholds.

Guiding Principles

Our District is guided in procurement procedures by several established principles. These guiding principles include but are not limited to:

Conducting all procurement in accordance with Arizona State Law, rules, regulations and LESD79 Governing Board policies.
Obtaining the best quality for the best price in a timely manner.
Maximizing and encouraging fair competition, and providing interested and qualified vendors with an opportunity to offer their products and/or services to the District.

Vendor Information

The Purchasing Department at Litchfield Elementary School District (LESD79) processes approximately 4,000 Purchase Orders each school year. We also prepare approximately 20 Invitation for Bids (IFB), Request for Proposals (RFP) and Request for Written Quotations annually.

LESD79 is committed for developing and administering consistent, fair and effective procurement practices while providing excellent customer service to all District Schools, Departments and Stakeholders. We strive to obtain maximum value for every dollar spent while remaining compliant with the procurement policies established by the LESD79 Governing Board, State Board of Education Procurement Rules, Uniform System of Financial Records and the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.).

The School District Procurement Rules are available on the Arizona Secretary of State’s website in Title 7 Education, Ch. 2 State Board of Education (Board), Articles 10 and 11, School District Procurement.

School District Procurement Rules the Board recently adopted are available at: Rules | Arizona State Board of Education (az.gov)

Doing Business with Public Entities in Arizona

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

How to do business with the litchfield elementary school district

An IRS W-9 form and Vendor Registration Form are required from all firms/vendors prior to the issuance of a District Purchase Order. Contact the Director of Purchasing and Warehouse to obtain the documentation. For individuals using their Social Security Number as their tax identification, the District will also require a copy of your Social Security Card and Valid Identification Card (such as a driver's license).

Current Solicitations:

LESD79 maintains its Vendor Bid Registry at AZPurchasing.org. For an opportunity to receive and respond to open solicitations, your firm must register at www.azpurchasing.org. The District encourages participation by all businesses in our solicitation process, including but not limited to: local businesses, small businesses, minority-owned firms, and women’s business enterprises.

Additionally, Litchfield Elementary School District is a member of the purchasing consortiums listed below. We utilize their contracts for purchases as well as our own Litchfield contracts. If you are interested in learning more about these consortiums, click on the links below to be directed to their websites.

Litchfield Procurement also maintains current vendor information on registered vendors. If you are a registered vendor with the District and have had a change of address, tax change, merger, etc. please email Purchasing Department with the details about the change. We will send you new documents to complete and return in order to keep our records up-to-date.

The RFP for benefits can be viewed on the AZ Purchasing website (https://www.azpurchasing.org/).

surplus disposal

The District utilizes two venues for disposal of surplus materials/ equipment. Refer to the information below for the auctioneer information.

For Online Auctions, all Bidders are required to follow the Terms and Conditions for Online Sales. Review the Internet-Based Sales, District's Current Listings and Instructions for bidding online on the vendor website are linked below. All Online Auctions Shall be Posted for minimum of fourteen (14) days.

LIVE Auction: Sierra Auction Management, 3570 Grand Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85019. Phone: 602-242-7121.

ONLINE Auction: The Public Group, LLC www.publicsurplus.com

Terms and Conditions of Online Sales

Online Auction Sales Terms and Conditions

Litchfield Standard Disclaimers

Additional Information

Purchase Orders

PURCHASE ORDERS

Purchases for LESD79 are authorized only by a Purchase Order (PO) signed by the Purchasing Administrator. Vendors should not accept or deliver orders for products or services without an authorized Purchase Order. LESD79 will not be held responsible for products or services delivered without a PO in place. Price increases or substitution of items without prior approval from the Purchasing Department is prohibited. PO's are only authorized for the total amount stated on the PO. Verbal changes are unauthorized.

INVOICES

Send invoices with purchase order number identified to accountspayable@lesd79.org

Gifts vs Donations

GIFTS vs. DONATIONS

LESD79 gladly accepts donations that provide an overall benefit to LESD79. These donations are recognized at our public governing board meetings. However, Arizona State Law and LESD79 Governing Board Policy prohibit LESD79 employees from accepting personal gifts. Please refer to the statements below, and do not offer any item that would be construed as a personal gift to any LESD79 employee. Also, do not offer LESD79 Contract discounts to LESD79 employees for personal purchases. Arizona Revised Statute §38-504.C states: "A public officer or employee shall not use or attempt to use the officer's or employee's official position to secure any valuable thing or valuable benefit for the officer or employee that would not ordinarily accrue to the officer or employee in the performance of the officer's or employee's official duties if the thing or benefit is of such character as to manifest a substantial and improper influence on the officer or employee with respect to the officer's or employee's duties. Per State law, penalties for violations of these provisions range from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 6 felony for both the district employee and the vendor.

Conflict of Interest

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Conflict of interest law prohibits LESD79 employees from identifying the need for goods or services from a business for which a relative works. “Relative” is defined as spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother or sister – whole or half blood, and their spouses and parents, or a brother, sister or child of a spouse. Additionally, an LESD79 employee is prohibited from selecting the business for goods or services, supervising the work of the business, voting on or approving the award of a contract to the business, and approving invoices for payment. LESD79 employees are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest on an annual basis. We ask our vendors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest when they register with us.

Vendor Registration

Cooperative Contracts

According to R7-2-1191 or the Arizona Department of Education School District Procurement Rules, school districts are allowed to enter into agreements to participate in cooperative purchasing of any materials, services, or construction. Cooperative purchasing is described in the procurement rules as “procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, more than one public procurement unit.”

1Government Procurement Alliance (1GPA) is a 506 non-profit national governmental purchasing cooperative company that offers contracts to purchase the goods and services they need from local and national vendors. Contracts are competitively bid and awarded in compliance with state statutes, procurement laws, and regulations.

Choice Partners National Purchasing Cooperative is a division of the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) and has been providing cooperative purchasing services since 2012. Contracts are awarded by the HCDE governing board of trustees. HCDE merged three procurement cooperatives, Choice Facility Partners, HCDE Purchasing Cooperative, and the Gulf Coast Food Co-op into one Choice Partners national cooperative. Choice Partners provides procurement services for education, facilities, food, supplies and services, and technology. Choice Partners also meets all EDGAR/Uniform Guidance/2 CFR 200 requirements.

Greater Phoenix Purchasing Consortium of Schools (GPPCS) is a consortium comprised of over fifty districts and charter schools throughout the State of Arizona. Paradise Valley Unified School District has participated in multi-district cooperative purchasing of commodities to increase buying power. The GPPCS cooperative purchase agreement has been approved by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Mohave Educational Services (MESC) is a nonprofit corporation public procurement unit pursuant to provisions of Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) 11-952 and 41-2632. As a public procurement unit with over forty-five years of service, Mohave must follow the Arizona procurement code. A statewide board of trustees (made up of seven school administrators) provides oversight of the cooperative.

Omnia Partners is a national governmental purchasing cooperative pursuant to provisions of A.R.S. 11- 952. Omnia Partners is comprised of several cooperative groups now all under one umbrella including, National IPA, TCPN, and US Communities. Omnia Partners competitively bids and awards contracts to national vendors in accordance with purchasing procedures mandated by state procurement laws and regulations.

State Procurement Office (SPO) establishes awards and maintains statewide contracts for state agencies and political subdivisions throughout the State of Arizona. This cooperative purchasing partnership of 400 plus includes state agencies, colleges and universities, counties, cities, school districts, and qualified not-for-profit organizations.

Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditures (SAVE) Cooperative Purchasing Group is composed of public agencies within the State of Arizona that have joined together in an effort to jointly competitively bid and award certain contracts in an effort to promote further competition in the public procurement process. This agreement with SAVE enhances the District’s ability to purchase supplies, equipment, and services that are advantageous to the District.

The State’s Cooperative Purchasing Program, Mohave, and 1GPA Cooperatives collect a one percent administrative fee. Choice Partners collects a one to four percent administrative fee. Omnia Partners collects a two to four percent administrative fee. No administrative fee is collected for the Greater Phoenix Purchasing Consortium of Schools, or Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditure cooperatives.

Tami Garrett

623-547-1528

Director of Purchasing Construction, Professional Services, SFB Projects, Federal Procurement

Purchasing Agents:

Shelly Catlin
623-547-1527
Community Education, District Office, Facilities, Food Service, Special Education, Technology

Joyanna Strope
623-547-1529
Curriculum, Elementary and Middle School Supplies, Transportation, Nursing Supplies

Stephanie Nunez

623-547-1526

Purchasing Technician

Fixed Assets and Records Management Accountant
Russell Randel
623-547-1576

Warehouse Supervisor
Manuel Fimbres
623-547-1580

Main Warehouse Address:
18921 West Thomas Road, Building E
Litchfield Park, AZ 85340
623-547-1581

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