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Board approves joint powers agreement to expand cooperative purchasing with North Dakota districts
Summary
The board voted to join a joint powers agreement proposed by several North Dakota districts to pursue cooperative purchasing opportunities; one board member opposed. Administrators said participation is optional for each procurement and that the agreement is intended to broaden vendor reach and leverage for some purchases.
The Grand Forks School Board voted to approve a joint powers agreement (JPA) on Jan. 13 intended to expand cooperative purchasing with several North Dakota districts, including Bismarck, Fargo, Mandan, Minot, West Fargo and Williston. The agreement passed on a roll call vote with one dissenting vote.
Why it matters: District procurement can materially affect costs for goods and services. Administrators said the JPA is meant to be an additional procurement vehicle to pursue shared requests for proposals in the region, not a mandatory replacement of existing state or district purchasing processes.
What the board heard: Business officer Brandon Baumbach described the JPA as a new tool born from conversations among larger districts to leverage size and geographic proximity for procurement. Baumbach said the JPA is “opt‑in” for each procurement; the district would still meet public‑notice and bidding rules and could continue to use state procurement contracts or other cooperative vehicles when they offer better terms.
Board members asked about governance, how lead districts would manage RFPs and the risk that a lead district might run a procurement without sufficient representation from all members. Baumbach said Bismarck offered to handle initial administrative work for some procurements, but that Grand Forks officials would be involved in defining specifications, bid terms and participation decisions, and could opt out of any particular procurement.
Board motion and vote: The motion to approve the JPA passed on a roll call vote (8–1). Matt Cleven registered the lone "no" vote; other members voted yes (Palmasino, Manley, Hodak, Anderson, Flynn, Larson, Lund and Berger). The administration recommended approval and emphasized there is no obligation to use the JPA for any particular purchase.
Ending: Administrators said they will evaluate the JPA’s usefulness as specific procurements arise and will report back to the board if they pursue cooperative procurements under the agreement.
