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 the ES WEBfiles.

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.

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. Individual items over $350 should be put on a separate PO.

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 or leased 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. (It is useful for families to collect their own supply of educational catalogs by calling 800 phone numbers to request them.)

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.

3. The ES keys in items and electronically creates the purchase order in WEBfiles.

4. The Accounting Department approves the order, creates an official copy, and sends it to the vendor.

5. The vendor sends or delivers the materials to the Education Specialist.

6.  ES checks the packing slip to the PO and enters the information in FRED and checks the box, to show when the order is complete and ready to be paid.
7.  The Accounting Department pays the vendor after they receive a bill from the vendor and they see that the ES has checked the box that the order is complete and ready to be paid