How to Do Business with Us
Where:
All Purchasing is handled through the Central Purchasing Department located at 506 S.E. 3rd Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471. Business Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Purchasing Department is charged with purchasing and supporting 75 schools and facilities for the District, the best quality of supplies, equipment and services at the lowest cost.
Vendor Registration: this service is free of charge.
We invite all vendors to register, if you have not done so, by clicking here. If you have registered with us, ensure your email address, commodities and categories in the profile are correct. If not, please correct so that you do not miss any opportunities that we may post to our website.
Invitation(s) to Bid (ITB) and/or Request for Proposal(s) (RFP):
A. Invitation to Bid Advisement will be emailed to those vendors registered with the Purchasing Department.
B. The ITB and/or RFP will be advertised on our Purchasing Homepage.
C. Pull the ITB and/or RFP from our website to your desktop or print.
D. Read the terms and conditions of the bid, ensure you fill out all required documentation.
E. Watch for either Mandatory or Non-Mandatory Pre Bid Meetings on the first page of the document.
F. All ITB or RFP’s submitted must be received and time stamped with the Purchasing Department prior to 2:00 PM on the bid opening date.
G. Tabulations will be posted to our website.
The purchasing dollar thresholds are:
A. $1000.00 to $12,499 requires telephone quotes performed by the end user.
B. $12,500 to $24,999 requires three written competitive quotes provided by the end user.
C. $25,000 to $49,999 requires a formal, “Request for Quotations” provided by the Purchasing Department.
D. $50,000 and above require an Invitation to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP) and Board Approval. Provided by the Purchasing Department.
E. Purchasing may require a formal Invitation to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP) for purchases or professional services under the $50,000.
Vendors should not receive approval to perform delivery of services or commodities without the purchase order issued from the Purchasing Department. Purchase orders are the only legal authorization for a vendor to perform.