Revised 5/2009

Purchase Orders

Families who enroll in this Charter School are encouraged to select curriculum materials for their enrolled children. Purchase orders (PO's) for these materials are placed electronically by the Education Specialist in F.R.E.D.

Unless a student is AESS, the Parent and the Education Specialist work together to choose each student's curriculum. The ES is responsible for creating purchase orders for the educational materials to be used by families. Each ES is also responsible for determining whether a family has made unreasonable or inappropriate requests in terms of instructional materials. Purchase of educational materials must be consistent with the course of study the student has chosen. For example, if a student is studying U.S. History, purchases of European Renaissance materials would not be consistent. Our student expectations are very broad, so problems are not likely.

When the Purchase order is created in FRED, the Education Specialist can send a pdf copy of the PO Request by email to the parent if the parent requests this information.

The items in a purchase order must subtotal at least $5. Purchase orders, which do not follow this guideline, will not be processed. You must resubmit the item on a PO which has a total of over $5, or change the PO to order additional items for a larger total.

For some orders, there will be an alert in the vendor notes that gives specific instructions regarding emailing an individual or not marking the PO done, etc. Please be sure to note the directions and follow them in order to not delay the processing of the PO .

Families cannot pay for materials themselves and then request reimbursement. If they want the school to pay for the item, they must go through the PO process. All merchandise which is purchased on a PO , including consumable items, is to be received by the ES and checked out to the family.

We are a school chartered by the state, therefore any materials purchased through the school belong to the school. They do not belong to the family. All items that are not consumed must be returned when the family drops from the charter school.

Overview of the Purchase Order Process

Here is an overview of the ordering process:

1. The family counsels with the Education Specialist to identify materials they want to use. (Vendor catalogs are often online, see approved vendor list)

2. The family or ES provides the following information for each item desired: vendor name, quantity, catalog number, unique description, and cost for one unit of the item. Be careful to write the catalog number accurately as some vendors may send the item by number and not take the description into account. Write a full description to help answer any screening questions that may arise during the PO process.

3. The ES keys in items and electronically creates the purchase order in FRED. It is viewable under "view" PO Requests.

4. The Accounting Department approves the order, creates an official copy, and sends it to the vendor. At this time it is viewable under "view" POs.

5. The vendor sends or delivers the materials to the Education Specialist. The ES then marks the order "complete" on the PO in FRED so the vendor can be paid.