District 30 considers purchasing partnership with county

District 30 could take part in a purchasing consortium led by Nassau County, however school officials are still finding out if the deal would be a worthwhile partnership.

Nassau County officials recently announced that more than a dozen local municipalities and school districts have taken interest in joining the consortium. The purpose is to buy goods and services in bulk, allowing taxpayers to save money. Valley Stream District 30 is one of a handful of school districts that is considering joining the consortium.

Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said district officials have to review the implications of taking part in the consortium. She said the district does not want to lose its right to go out to bid on its own for goods and services. Kanas also explained that they don’t want to be forced to use a vendor they have not had success with in the past, just because it is being used by the consortium.

According to a press release from Nassau County, a municipality or school can choose to opt in or out of any cooperative bid request. County officials say that participation in the consortium, the Long Island Intergovernmental Purchasing Council, gives these agencies access to competitively bid contracts.

The bi-county consortium was created in August by Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. More than a half-dozen municipalities have already signed on including two towns and four villages. “As we continue to search for ways to save taxpayer dollars, it only makes sense to have more districts and governments join our efforts to protect taxpayers from wasteful spending,” Mangano said. “The invitation stands for all municipalities to join us in this cost-cutting initiative.”

Kanas said one of her biggest concerns would be if the district lost the right to choose its own professional service providers, such as attorneys, architects and auditors. With those services, Kanas said school districts do not have to choose the lowest responsible bidder, but rather the company that best suits the district’s needs. “Sometimes it’s not a one size fits all situation,” she said.

District 30 already belongs to many purchasing cooperatives, she said. It takes part in the Southwest Nassau Quadrant consortium for student transportation, as well as a cooperative for fuel. Items such as tissues, toilet paper, pens and pencils, copy paper and cleaning supplies are bought in bulk in partnership with other school districts. “It’s rare that we would do something that’s not part of a cooperative,” Kanas said.

Other districts have some of the same concerns about taking part in the county purchasing consortium, Kanas explained. She said she is hoping to have districts put together a list of these questions to be included in the agreement before signing up.

Kanas said that while district officials are always interested in saving money, it can’t be at the expense of losing its own decision-making power. “If we don’t join,” she said, “we have many cooperatives that we’re a part of. This was provided as another option.”