School district governing boards are required to competitively bid and award contracts with expenditure of more than $50,000 to the lowest responsible bidder. This provision applies to the purchase of equipment, materials or supplies to be furnished, sold, or leased to the school district, services that are not construction services, and repairs including maintenance as defined in Public Contract Code (PCC) Section 201515 that are not public projects as defined in PCC Section 22002(c).
On December 1, 2017 the State Superintendent of Public Instruction adjusted the $50,000 bid limit specified in PCC 20111(a). Effective January 1, 2018 the bid threshold increases from $88,300 to $90,200. This change reflects a 2.20% increase.
Public projects defined in PCC Section 22002(c), such as construction or reconstruction of publicly owned facilities, have a lower bid threshold of $15,000 that is not adjusted for inflation. For more information on bidding requirements for all projects, refer to PCC sections 20110 to 20118.4.
A copy of the California Department of Education’s correspondence is posted to their website and can be found by clicking here.
