REVISED 12/2009

Vendor Approval Procedure

Connecting Waters Charter School is able to purchase a wide variety of curriculum. There are hundreds of vendors to choose from on the approved vendor list. The ES works in cooperation with the parent in deciding the appropriate curriculum and CP courses for a student. Each ES is responsible for ordering materials, setting up courses, and tracking expenses for each student. See Purchase Orders, Instructional Funds, and Contract Programs for a more detailed explanation.

The ES receives a vendor approval request from a parent or the ES can initiate a request themselves. Gather all necessary information you will need in order to approve the vendor. The Vendor Request form is an optional tool to help you. Consider the request for the approval of this vendor using the Criteria of Materials That Can Be Purchased with Instructional Funds, the Vendor Instructor Policy, (for service vendors), the Classified Instructor Policy (for CP courses) and the extra requirements for High Risk vendors, using the Vendor Approval Checklist. Here is an optional letter for Prospective Vendors.

If you are approving this vendor, enter the information into FRED by going to “Create” New Vendor Request. Fill out the information and submit the request. Once Vendor Relations has begun to process the request, it will be viewable under “View” Vendor Requests. Vendor Relations will make notes on this file so that you can see when various steps have been completed in the process. When the process is complete, the ES will receive an email. Keep the completed Vendor Approval Checklist in your files. IEM will send the vendor the appropriate paperwork.
When a prospective vendor is denied VR sends an auto email to the requesting ES to let them know. If anyone asks you ‘why’ the vendor was denied, please have them contact Vendor Relations. Moving forward, we will NOT discuss the reasons for non-approval with anyone. VR will indicate that they are 'not approved.'  If anyone asks you why, say that you “cannot discuss the matter, as approval processes are confidential.”
(It is often helpful for the ES to contact the vendor to "pave the way" for the vendor approval paperwork that is going to be sent to them.ESs are asked not to contact product vendors once they are on our approved vendor list, but they may call prospective product vendors to let them know that paperwork from IEM will be coming to initiate the vendor approval process.)

You will need to initiate a new vendor request to reactivate an inactive vendor that is no longer on our approved vendor list.

Currently this CWCS has hundreds of approved vendors. Many of these vendors sell duplicate inventories. We would like to encourage ESs to try to purchase the items from an already approved vendor. The ES can expect a month turn around time in the vendor approval process. It will save time and serve families more quickly to use already approved vendors. To search the approved vendors go to "search" in FRED.