How to do Business with MPS
Welcome to the growing team of vendors who serve Mesa Public Schools. The purpose of this information is to acquaint those who wish to sell products or provide services to Mesa Public Schools with the purchasing procedures utilized by the District. Familiarity with these procedures will aid in presenting your company's products and/or services to the District.
This information does not alter or supersede the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) or the Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.).
PURCHASE ORDERS
We currently have several thousand vendors on our vendor list. Before a vendor can be issued a MPS Purchase Order a copy of its IRS Form W-9 must be on file in our office.
Purchase Order Terms, Conditions & Instructions
All commitments of purchases by MPS will be made by an approved Purchase Order number assigned by the Purchasing Department. Products/services are not to be delivered without an approved Purchase Order. Vendors accepting orders without a purchase order number do so at their own risk.
The substitution of items without the prior written approval of our Purchasing Department is prohibited. Only those items specifically listed on a Purchase Order may be delivered. The schools and departments within this district do not have the authority to substitute without Purchasing's approval. Verification of Purchase Orders may be made by contacting Purchasing.
BIDDERS LIST
MPS utilizes the AZPurchasing website to maintain a list of vendors who are interested in doing business with the District. A vendor who wishes to be included on the Prospective Bidder List should visit our Bidder Registration site and follow the instructions there.
INTRODUCING YOUR COMPANY'S PRODUCTS/SERVICES
Mesa Public Schools purchases a wide variety of commodities and services to support the District's operations. If your company sells a product and/or service required by the District, and your company is competitive with those who are currently supplying those goods or services to the District, the Purchasing Department is interested in meeting with you.
The MPS Purchasing Department is organized into various buying teams. Each buying team is responsible for certain commodities and services. Please visit our buyer commodity page to determine the appropriate buying team for your product/service.
Our department is staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday excluding school holidays and summer scheduling. It is recommended that you contact the appropriate buying team to schedule an appropriate appointment.
APPLICATION OF TAXES
Arizona vendors are responsible for the privilege license tax (City sales tax) of their resident City and the Arizona transaction privilege tax (State sales tax). The District is not exempt from paying sales/use taxes. Sales tax added on to invoices from Arizona vendors are paid by the District. Use tax will be paid directly to the State of Arizona on invoices from out-of-state vendors.
PAYMENT OF INVOICES
Accounts Payable and Student Activities websites for more information.
HOW ARE OFFERS SOLICITED
Offers are solicited through "informal" and "formal" procedures. Informal procedures are utilized when the total dollar value of the purchase, during the entire term of the contract, is less than the threshold amount established in A.R.S. 15-213.A (currently $33,689). Competitive sealed bids, requests for proposals and requests for qualifications (formal) are used to when the total dollar value of the purchase, during the entire term of the contract, is greater than the threshold amount.
INFORMAL SOLICITATIONS
For purchases of less than $5,000 (cumulative per vendor per year districtwide), quotes are not required and purchases are made at the District's discretion. For purchases between $5,000 and the threshold amount established in A.R.S. 15-213.A (currently $33,689), a minimum of three written quotes will be obtained.
FORMAL SOLICITATIONS
Offers will be solicited by an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Qualification (RFQ). Notification of the IFB, RFP or RFQ is sent to all vendors registered for the commodity or service required. The solicitations are posted on our Open Solicitations page. The formal competitive process generally takes up to eight (8) weeks from issuance of the bid to formal contract award.
Bid openings are conducted at Purchasing Department sites and are open to the public. Bid information, as appropriate, is read at the bid opening. However, bid documents are not open for public inspection during the evaluation period.
The Purchasing Department may not disclose a proposed contract award until it is formally approved for award. All relevant bid documents become a part of the public record upon award of the contract. All bidders are notified as to the contract award as soon as it is formally approved by the MPS.
COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
Mesa Public Schools is a member of and participates in the following purchasing consortiums:
Arizona State Contracts(AzSPO)
Arizona Dept of Education Contracts
Mohave Educational Services Cooperative (MESC)
The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN)
Greater Phoenix Purchasing Consortium of Schools (GPPCS)
Strategic Alliance for Volume Expenditures (SAVE)
PURCHASING RULES
We have provided via the links below, the current Arizona rules regarding procurement in school districts. A school district may adopt stronger or more restrictive language, but cannot adopt polices which dilute this code.
Arizona Revised Statutes 15-213 authorizes the State Board of Education to submit rules to the Auditor General. The Arizona School District Procurement Rules apply to purchases above the bid threshold established by the Arizona State Board of Education (currently $33,689).
Arizona School District Procurement Rules
The Auditor General is responsible for establishing rules for purchasing below the bid threshold. These rules are found in the Uniform System of Financial Records (USFR) and apply to all purchase below the bid threshold.
Guidelines for Competitive Purchasing Below the Bid Threshold
The purchasing rules and guidelines above along with MPS Governing Board Policies guide our procurement procedures so that we may best utilize taxpayer funds and obtain the greatest value for our purchasing dollar.
MPS Governing Board Purchasing Policies
MPS is subject to the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104-156) and therefore must contract with an independent audit firm to conduct an annual audit of financial transactions and accounts kept by or for the District.
The State of Arizona Auditor General publishes the USFR Compliance Questionaire which must be used by the independent audit firm in conducting the audit of our District. The purpose of the questionnaire is to determine whether districts are in compliance with the State's laws, applicable rules, regulations and our District's own Governing Board Policies. The applicable section for procurement is the "Expenditures" section of the questionaire.
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS
All request for public information may be made by following the procedures outlined on our Public Records Request page. All payments must be made via check made payable to Mesa Public Schools.
PROTEST PROCEDURES
The Purchasing Department attempts to purchase the very best mix of product quality, price, and vendor performance. Sometimes vendors feel that the process has unfairly eliminated them from the competitive process. If you feel that you have not been given a fair opportunity to do business with MPS, please contact the appropriate buyer with your concerns. If you do not receive satisfaction through an informal meeting with the buyer, your next step is to file a formal protest with the District Representative.
Thank you for taking the time to review this information. You are encouraged to contact the Purchasing Department should any questions or concerns arise that are not thoroughly covered on this web site. We look forward to doing business with your company and to a mutually beneficial relationship.
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