Purchasing

By accepting a purchase order from the School Board of Polk County, Florida (Board), the parties agree that the Board’s electronic Purchase Order Terms and Conditions automatically incorporate into the parties’ contract to purchase goods or services, and the parties agree to be bound by its terms.

The Board’s Purchase Order Terms and Conditions may be updated from time to time and the then-current version posted on the Board’s website shall control and be in effect to govern the parties.

INVOICES AND PAYMENT FROM PURCHASE ORDERS: All invoices must be itemized and submitted to the Board with each purchase order being invoiced separately. The Board purchase order number should appear on all invoices. Payment will only be made after the commodity or service has been received, accepted and accurately invoiced.

COMPLIANCE WITH THE JESSICA LUNSFORD ACT: Florida Statutes contain certain fingerprinting and/or screening requirements pertaining to all persons or entities entering into contracts with Schools/School Boards/School Districts/Charter Schools who may have personnel who will be on school grounds when students may be present. Any individual who fails to meet the statutory requirements shall not be allowed on school grounds. Failure to comply with the statutory requirements will be considered a material default of this contract/agreement. Please visit https://polkschoolsfl.com/jessicalunsfordact/ for a list of links to requirements regarding the Jessica Lunsford Act.

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION: Neither the vendor/contractor nor the Board will discriminate against faculty, staff, contractors, or students on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnic origin, nationality, genetic information, gender, including gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression, race, religion, or veteran status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law in its educational programs, website accessibility, admission policies, financial aid, employment or other school administered programs. The Parties will abide by the Board’s anti-discrimination and anti-bullying policies in accordance with the law while accomplishing this contract.

SALES TAX: The Board is exempt from State sales and use taxes and Federal excise taxes. (State Exemption No. 85-8013927632C-8).

JURISDICTION: The contract resulting from acceptance of a purchase order is to be governed by the laws of the State of Florida. The venue for any actions arising out of a purchase order shall be in the state courts of Polk County, Florida, or the federal courts for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

ASSIGNMENT: No assignment of an order or monies to be derived therefrom is acceptable without the prior written approval of the Board.

BID TERMS: If a purchase order is a result of a bid or proposal award, all conditions, provisions and specifications of the bid/proposal shall become a part of and are incorporated into the order.

INSPECTION: Inspection and acceptance of items will be at the stated destination(s) unless otherwise provided, and title to and risk of loss or damage is the responsibility of the vendor until acceptance by the Board.

LIABILITY: The Board’s liability will not exceed the value of the purchase order. As a Florida statutory corporation, the Board does not waive its sovereign immunity or its self-insured status
consistent with §768.28, Florida Statutes. Further, the Board will not be responsible for negligent or intentionally wrongful acts of any other party including third parties.

CANCELLATION: The Board reserves the right to cancel a purchase order and refuse acceptance of damaged, defective, or inferior goods or services as a material breach.

MODIFICATIONS: Vendors/contractors shall take no directions to modify (increase, change, decrease, cancel) a purchase order, once issued, from anyone other than the Board’s Purchasing Department. Additional work must be authorized in advance by the Purchasing Department; at the discretion of the Purchasing Department either a change order to the original purchase order or a supplemental purchase order will be issued for the requested modification (increase, change, decrease, cancel). The vendor assumes all liability for any costs or damages incurred and payment will be denied for additional work if this procedure is not strictly followed.

DELIVERY: Deliveries must be made in accordance with specified delivery schedules or as soon as possible after receipt of the purchase order if no delivery schedule is specified or bid. All delivery containers must be marked with the Polk County School Board purchase order number. Unless stated otherwise, all products being shipped into the Board’s warehouse shall be packaged in cardboard cartons so as to prevent damage both in transit and in the warehouse. For all truck deliveries into the warehouse, the vendor is required to provide notification AT LEAST 24 HOURS PRIOR TO DELIVERY. For Bartow warehouse deliveries, call Warehouse Receiving at (863) 534-0910. For Winter Haven warehouse deliveries, call 863-291-5292. Truck drivers will be required to assist in unloading.

FEDERAL DEBARMENT CERTIFICATION: Certification regarding debarment, suspension, ineligibility and voluntary exclusion as required by Executive Order 12549, Debarment and Suspension, and implemented at 2 CFR, Part 180, as defined at 2 CFR Part 180, Section 300.
1) The prospective lower tier participant certifies, by acceptance of a purchase order, that neither it, nor its principals, its agents or its representatives are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any Federal department or agency.
2) Where the prospective lower tier participant is unable to certify to any of the statements in this certification, such prospective participant shall submit a written explanation to the Purchasing Department. Where this is the case, vendor is not authorized to provide goods or services on the purchase order until vendor receives written approval from the Purchasing Department.

FEDERAL FUNDS: When Federal funds are expended by the Board, the following provisions of 2 CFR 200 Appendix II pertain as applicable.  To access this information online, use the link below:
https://ecfr.federalregister.gov/on/2021-05-10/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#Appendix-II-to-Part-200

TERMINATION: This contract may be terminated without liability to the Board in whole or in part when it is deemed to be in the best interest of the Board to so act. Notification of termination must be in writing and issued by the Director of Purchasing or designee.
DEFAULT (CAUSE). The Board may terminate all or any part of a purchase order by giving notice of default to vendor/contractor, if vendor/contractor:

1. Refuses or fails to deliver the goods or services within the time specified;
2. Fails to comply with any of the provisions of the purchase order or so fails to make progress as to endanger performances, hereunder, or;
3. Becomes insolvent or subject to proceedings under any law relating to bankruptcy, insolvency, or relief of debtors. In the event of termination for default, the Board’s liability will be limited to the payment for goods and services delivered and accepted as of the date of termination.
4. Termination for cause includes terminations under 287.135, F.S.
   CONVENIENCE. The Board may terminate for its convenience at any time, in whole or in part. The vendor/contractor shall stop work immediately upon notification of termination unless otherwise agreed upon. In the event of termination for convenience, the Board’s sole obligations will be to reimburse vendor/contractor for:

1. Those goods or services actually shipped/performed and accepted up to the date of termination, and
2. Costs incurred by vendor/contractor for unfinished goods, which are specifically manufactured for the School Board and which are not standard products of the vendor/contractor, as of the date of termination, and a reasonable profit thereon.
3. In no event is the School Board responsible for either loss of anticipated profit or reimbursement exceeding the purchase order value.
   FUNDING. Contracts awarded hereunder are subject to the appropriation and availability of funds as approved by the School Board of Polk County, Florida. In the event funds for the specific purpose of this purchase order are not appropriated or are insufficient, the contract may be terminated immediately without penalty or expense to the Board of any kind whatsoever.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION (“E-VERIFY”): Section 448.095, Florida Statutes. The employment of unauthorized aliens by any Vendor/contractor or subcontractor is considered a violation of Section 274A(e) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. Florida law requires registration with and use of the federal employment eligibility verification (“E-Verify”) system on state contracts for goods and services. If the contractor or subcontractor knowingly employs unauthorized aliens, such violation will be cause for immediate contract termination as a matter of law. The contractor or subcontractor will be barred from any other contracts with the School Board and may be required cover any additional costs incurred by the School Board. Contact the Purchasing Department for more information if you are unsure of the requirements this imposes.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: The Parties agree to maintain confidential records and information pursuant to law (like the Federal Education Right Privacy Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, etc.). Regarding Data Storage/Breaches, the Vendor will employ commercial best practices for ensuring the security of all School Board data including but not limited to electronic, spoken and paper information accessed, used, created, maintained, disposed of, or otherwise handled (hereafter “information activities”) in the course of the Vendor’s performance of this contract. In the event of a breach of security as defined in Section 501.171, Florida Statutes, the Vendor shall notify the School Board immediately, but no later than ten calendar days following a determination of a breach of data security. Additionally, the Vendor shall fully cooperate, at its own expense, with the School Board regarding the School Board’s statutory notification requirements. This cooperation includes law enforcement and auditors. Additionally, the Parties acknowledge that PCPS as a local governmental entity is subject to the State of Florida’s public record laws, as mentioned below. Should a request be made for disclosure of confidential records of the Vendor, PCPS shall provide notice to the other party who may then, at its discretion, respond to the request. Should the Vendor not disclose the records or documents, the Vendor will defend and indemnify PCPS for any fees and costs which are incurred or taxed against the PCPS because of the non-disclosure. Should the Vendor require confidential student information or PII as a “school official,” it may enter into a separate Data Sharing Agreement with PCPS.

PUBLIC RECORDS/CONTRACTS FOR SERVICES AS DEFINED IN F.S. 119.0701: The contractor/consultant agrees to willingly cooperate and promptly furnish public records in accordance with the law. When there is a contract for services as defined in F.S. 119.0701, the consultant/contractor must comply with Florida’s public records laws, specifically, the consultant/contractor must:

1. 1. Keep and maintain public records required by the public agency to perform the service.
   2. Upon request from the public agency’s custodian of public records, provide the public agency with a copy of the requested records or allow the records to be inspected or copied within a reasonable time at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided in this chapter or as otherwise provided by law.
   3. Ensure that public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure requirements are not disclosed except as authorized by law for the duration of the contract term and following completion of the contract if the contractor does not transfer the records to the public agency.
   4. Upon completion of the contract, transfer, at no cost, to the public agency all public records in possession of the contractor or keep and maintain public records required by the public agency to perform the service. If the contractor transfers all public records to the public agency upon completion of the contract, the contractor shall destroy any duplicate public records that are exempt or confidential and exempt from public records disclosure requirements. If the contractor keeps and maintains public records upon completion of the contract, the contractor shall meet all applicable requirements for retaining public records. All records stored electronically must be provided to the public agency, upon request from the public agency’s custodian of public records, in a format that is compatible with the information technology systems of the public agency.

Public records means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business with Polk County Public Schools. Contractor’s records may include, but are not limited to, supplier/subcontractor invoices and contracts, project documents, meeting notes, emails and all other documentation generated during the contract term.
Records must be created and maintained in accordance with the General Records Schedule GS1-SL for State and Local Government Agencies.

IF THE CONTRACTOR HAS QUESTIONS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 119, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO THE CONTRACTOR’S DUTY TO PROVIDE PUBLIC RECORDS RELATING TO THIS CONTRACT, CONTACT THE PUBLIC RECORDS OFFICE AT:

POLK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PO BOX 391
BARTOW, FL 33831-0391
TELEPHONE: 863-578-8208
publicrecords@polk-fl.net

If the Consultant/Contractor does not comply with a public records request, the School Board of Polk County, Florida shall enforce the contract provisions which may include immediate termination of contract.