Special Procurement Programs

Freight Management

Freight Management is a centralized process that allows FCPS to manage all freight costs associated with materials that we currently purchase from textbook vendors.

Historically, schools have been paying between six and ten percent for shipping costs for textbook orders. As a means of saving money on textbook shipping costs, the Office of Procurement Services has established textbook delivery agreements at very favorable rates.

Through our agreements with these shipping companies, the Office of Procurement Services receives all textbook shipping bills. We pay the shipping charges on behalf of the schools out of a centralized account established solely for this purpose.

Under this program, our data is showing our average freight bills to be a little over 2%.

Lease Purchase

Direct payment is considered the preferred method to acquire capital assets. Commodities currently procured under this process include school buses, computers and vehicles.
Due to budget shortfalls, a lease purchase program is an alternative financing method that is used when direct payment is not fiscally practical or when there is a clear advantage to defer payments over the long term.

Procurement Card

The credit card program was instituted in an effort to make purchasing and payment of school supplies and textbooks using appropriated funds more convenient for school personnel. All purchases made with a school credit card are billed directly to the index and subobject code assigned to each card.

Guidelines

• Single transaction limit of $5,000 per credit card regulations with the exception of textbooks
• Limits on credit cards are established by the Principal/Program Manager and cannot exceed the available fund code balance
• Purchases are exempt from Virginia state sales tax
• School credit cards may not be used for cash advances and entertainment
• No personal purchases may be made with the card
• Accounts Payable establishes new card accounts and changes to existing cards

Textbook Rebinding

The Office of Procurement Services is responsible for handling and funding the program for rebinding textbooks. Rebinding textbooks is a very cost effective alternative to purchasing replacement textbooks. Schools are able to have textbooks repaired throughout the year at no charge. Funding is centrally managed by the Office of Procurement Services at no cost to the schools.