Perceptions of superintendents and business managers regarding purchasing policies, practices, and procedures in small, rural school districts: A North Dakota study

The challenge of determining efficient purchasing practices in the school districts of North Dakota motivated this study. One of the problems is that most of the schools are relatively small and cannot devote the personnel needed to ensure that the best quality of supplies, materials, and equipment is purchased at the lowest possible prices. One supposition prior to this study was that many of the North Dakota school districts, for a variety of reasons, put little emphasis on the policies, practices, and procedures that contribute to efficiency in purchasing. Another premise that was investigated was that small, isolated schools were the least likely to participate in purchasing cooperatives.;All business managers and superintendents in North Dakota school districts were invited to respond to an e-mail survey. The number of responses was 68 or 36.3% of the superintendents and 53 or 21.5% of the business managers. The respondents gave their perceptions of the personnel involved with the purchasing process, the costs associated with purchasing, and the benefits of cooperative purchasing to their schools.;The study identified that as enrollment categories declined in size, a significantly greater level of importance was placed on the hard costs listed. This study also determined that larger schools in North Dakota tend to have more specialization of personnel performing the purchasing function. It was discovered that one third of the respondent schools did not participate in a purchasing cooperative. The distance category of schools 80 or more miles from a population center has a notably smaller participation rate than the other distance categories. Also, this study identified a significant relationship between the perceived importance of purchasing cooperatives and enrollment and distance.;Recommendations included more training for the personnel involved in the purchasing process and a single, statewide educational service agency be established in North Dakota to provide services such as cooperative purchasing, special education, professional development, technology infrastructure, and program technical assistance. A steadfast effort should be initiated to bring governmental entities from all agencies and at all levels together to collaborate in the business operations they hold in common.