Authorizing Practices

Procurement Bidding Documentation Reconciliation

     

As part of its compliance work, DC PCSB must ensure that each public charter school contract valued above $25,000 moves through a proper public bidding process. Therefore, when a school enters into a contract above $25,000, they must submit evidence that a contract was bid publicly. This documentation includes, but is not limited to, evidence that the contract was advertised in two newspapers and the DC Register, the bids received by the school for each good or service contract, and the rationale for the award of the contract to the vendor selected.

Certain types of contracts (e.g., legal services, brokered services) are allowed to move through alternative selection processes that requires different documentation to be submitted. These requirements are explained in further detail in DC PCSB’s newly updated Procurement Contract Submission and Conflict of Interest Policy. Additionally, a historical record of contracts entered into by DC Public Charter Schools are avaibale on our website.  

For context, the DC PCSB Board voted to approve updates to its Procurement Contract Submission and Conflict of Interest Policy at its April 2018 meeting. The most substantial change to the policy was a clear articulation of a path of consequences for late or incomplete submissions. Additionally, under the new policy, DC PCSB staff will no longer automatically collect most executed contracts under $100,000.

However, per legal requirements, DC PCSB staff will still collect and monitor information about public bidding, the vendor selected, and the value of each contract over $25,000. Furthermore, should DC PCSB staff have any questions or concerns about a procurement contract under $100,000, staff may ask the school to produce the executed contract at any time.

In addition to collecting information on contracts over $25,000, DC PCSB also collects all bidding documentation and the executed contract for any conflicting interest contract over $1,000. This lower threshold provides transparency for any transaction that occurs when there may be a conflicting interest. In addition to these policy changes, DC PCSB also recently concluded its annual reconciliation of FY17 procurement bidding documentation, which was read into the record at the July 2018 DC PCSB Board Meeting.

This list includes timely bidding documentation submitted through the normal procurement contract collection process for June, as well as contracts submitted outside of the normal process, including a number of untimely contracts submitted by schools between May 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018 but entered into during FY17. These contracts were submitted in response to a request by DC PCSB staff to submit all outstanding contract documentation for FY17 to ensure DC PCSB staff has a complete record.

Moving forward, DC PCSB expects that the changes made to the Procurement Contract Submission and Conflict of Interest Policy earlier this year will discourage schools from submitting untimely procurement bidding documentation.

Procurement Bidding Documentation Reconciliation.