Orange Board approves two changes to procurement policy, leaves third proposal for later

The Orange Board of Education on Sept. 9 approved two amendments to Board Policy 63.20 that change competitive-bidding and quoting requirements for district contracts.

The board voted to remove the requirement that staff obtain three price quotes for contracts under $20,000 and to eliminate the competitive-bidding requirement for contracts related to school buildings (including repairs, improvements and school buses) under $75,000. The board took those two changes together and approved them by roll call.

The changes were presented as three connected proposals. The third proposed change — raising the amount of contracts that must be brought to the full board from $10,000 to $20,000 — drew extended discussion and no vote. Several board members said they were uncomfortable increasing that approval threshold and preferred to see how the first two amendments affected operations before taking further steps; the board left the third proposal for future consideration.

Board members and staff discussed why the three-quote rule had become difficult in practice, noting vendors sometimes do not provide multiple competitive bids for smaller or specialized services and that securing three quotes can slow work that departments consider routine. Administration staff said the other two amendments align parts of district policy with recent state law changes that affect competitive bidding thresholds; staff noted a state-law provision referenced an Oct. 24 effective date for part of the change.

Board members also raised transparency concerns about moving the board-approval threshold higher. One member cited recent contracts around the $10,000 mark as examples the board had reviewed and said raising the threshold as high as $20,000 would reduce board visibility into routine purchases. Another member suggested a smaller increase (for example to $15,000) as a compromise but the board did not adopt a new threshold at this meeting.

The board’s motion to amend Policy 63.20 to remove the three-quote requirement for contracts under $20,000 and to eliminate competitive bidding for school-building contracts under $75,000 passed on a roll call vote in which all present members voted yes.

The board said it expects to review the results of the two approved changes before revisiting whether to raise the superintendent/treasurer approval threshold.

Ending: The board’s policy changes will be incorporated into the district’s procurement rules; one element tied to state law will take effect Oct. 24. The deferred proposal to increase the board-approval threshold remains under consideration and may return to a future meeting for action.