Purchasing

Procurement Manager
Matt House
 
Welcome to the purchasing department of the Downingtown Area School District. For questions or information, please contact Matt House via email.

Downingtown Area School District periodically participates in Bids and RFPs, however no longer participates in line item bidding for general school/office supplies. Partnering with various vendors to provide on-line ordering as needed has proven to be time and cost effective. Office Depot is currently the primary office supply vendor under the TCPN contract. Other on-line vendors include School Specialty, Kurtz and Becker’s.

All active BIDS and RFPs are advertised on the website and documents and results can be viewed through the link provided on the home purchasing page.

Downingtown does make the effort to obtain quotations on all products ordered and is happy to keep your information on file so that you are notified when quotations are needed and notified of bidding and RFP opportunities.

Every school in the Downingtown Area School District has a budget to purchase materials, supplies and services necessary to support the school’s daily operations. All school administrators are responsible for understanding and following the district’s policies and procedures for purchasing materials, supplies and services.

The Downingtown Area School District is required to follow ALL procurement requirements controlling the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment for use in public schools throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These include the Uniform Commercial Code, state laws and federal regulations.

PA School Code 807, as amended, establishes the primary legal requirements to be followed in the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment as such:

Purchases between $12,600 and 23,200 must have three quotations unless the purchase is made from an “approved” vendor. It is recommended that three quotes are received for ALL purchases between $12,600 and 23,200. Please notify the purchasing department for assistance. 

Purchases over 23,200 must be advertised and publicly bid, unless an "approved" vendor is used. Please notify the purchasing department for assistance.

An approved vendor is a vendor that is part of a legal purchasing consortium.

NOTE: The fact that a school district is under no legal requirement to obtain competitive pricing should in no way supersede the responsibility of the purchasing department to ensure that the district is getting the best value for the best price.

IMPORTANT: Purchasing amount thresholds apply to the DISTRICT. The total spend must include all predictable products, district-wide, for the entire fiscal year. Examples include copy paper, technology items, supplies, custodial supplies and furniture. If the total of school/district purchases for like items will equal more than $12,600, then procurement rules for purchases greater than $12,600 apply.
 
NOTE: As of July 1, 2016, the Downingtown Board of School Directors has approved the requirement that 3 quotes must be obtained for all purchases over $5,000.

APPROVED VENDORS
A vendor is the company or organization that sells the items or provides the services that you would like to purchase. Vendors that are part of an approved purchasing consortium are recommended. DASD is approved to participate in the following purchasing consortiums:

Chester County Intermediate Unit Contracts – copy paper, technology, binder combs, custodial supplies, Percent Discount Catalog Bid, Fuel Oil and Trash Removal. Please contact Sharon Freemont at the CCIU for additional information. www.cciu.org

State Contracts – PA State Contract, COSTARS, DGS, PA Federal Surplus Property.

Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA) – KPN, PAEJPC, PEPPM, NJPA, TCPN

National Contracts – US Communities, GSA Technology Schedule 70.
 
DISTRICT SURPLUS ITEMS
All surplus items in the district must be approved for sale or disposal by the building principal, technology and curriculum if applicable, and the DASD Board of Directors. The Facilities Department picks up approved surplus items for sale, from the buildings, in June and December.

DISTRICT POLICY
Downingtown School Board Policy can be referenced for purchasing authority and guidelines.

Downingtown Area School District uses “approved” vendors whenever possible to purchase goods and services. Approved vendors are part of a legal purchasing consortium. If you are not sure what constitutes an “approved vendor”, please visit the vendor information tab on the website.

To be added to our vendor list as an approved vendor, a vendor for future Quotations, RFPs or Bids, an Information Form must be filled out.
 
Email requests at lpeiffer@dasd.org are used to meet with vendors for introduction to their products and services, obtain references and determine whether vendors should be added to the vendor list.

If you would like to be added to our vendor list of non-approved vendors for future RFPs or Bids, please email Matt House. Requests are used to meet with vendors for introduction to their products and services, obtain references and determine whether vendors should be added to the vendor list..

Vendor lists are maintained in the district by product category such as, but not limited to:

• K-12 Furniture
• Office Furniture
• Copiers/Printers/Print Management
• General Office Supplies
• Art Supplies
• Technology Items
• Special Education Classroom Materials
• Special Education Classroom Equipment
• Athletic Equipment

The Downingtown Area School District uses Public Surplus for the sale of all district surplus items. Below is a list of item(s) currently for sale:

2006 Ford F-350 Super Duty:

2006 GMC Savannah:

2004 Chevrolet Express:

2009 Ford Escape:

2018 Chevrolet Malibu:

Four (4) Thomas CH Minotour 30 Passenger Buses CLOSED

Notice is hereby given that:
The Downingtown Area School District is soliciting sealed bids for the delivery and installation of kitchen equipment at the following locations:
1.  East Ward Elementary School, 435 Washington Avenue, Downingtown, PA 19335: Walk-In Cooler
2. Lionville Elementary School, 526 West Uwchlan Avenue, Downingtown, PA 19335: Walk-In Cooler
3. Marsh Creek 6th Grade Center, 489 Dorlan Mill Road, Downingtown, PA 19335: Dishwasher

Bidders may submit proposals for any or all items. Awards may be made to multiple vendors. Bids must not be contingent upon receiving multiple awards.  

Submission Deadline: Sealed bids must be received by 11:00 AM EST, July 22, 2025

Bid: Advertisement for Bid

Bid: Document Drawings

BID: Proposal form

BID: Results