Chester County School Districts' Joint Purchasing Board

The Chester County School Districts' Joint Purchasing Board combines the buying power of the 12 school districts and the intermediate unit to annually save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Board takes advantage of lower prices, reduced advertising costs and other economies associated with combining the purchases of materials, supplies and equipment through the joint competitive bidding process. Each year, the Board bids and then bulk purchases hundreds of items in up to 32 different categories.

For the past four years, savings have averaged over half a million dollars, or about 10% savings over what school districts would have paid if bidding was done on an individual basis.

The Joint Purchasing Board is composed of a representative of the 12 Chester County school districts and the CCIU's director of Administrative Services. Also, 11 Chester County municipalities participate in the joint purchasing program for selected bid items.

For more information, please contact the IU's joint purchasing agent Elizabeth Hampton at (484) 237-5156.