§ 115C-522. Provision of equipment for buildings. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 115C‑522.  Provisionof equipment for buildings.

(a)        It shall be theduty of local boards of education to purchase or exchange all supplies,equipment, and materials, and these purchases shall be made in accordance withArticle 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. These purchases may be madefrom contracts made by the Department of Administration. Title to instructionalsupplies, office supplies, fuel and janitorial supplies, enumerated in thecurrent expense fund budget and purchased out of State funds, shall be taken inthe name of the local board of education which shall be responsible for thecustody and replacement: Provided, that no contracts shall be made by any localschool administrative unit for purchases unless provision has been made in thebudget of the unit to pay for the purchases, unless surplus funds are on handto pay for the purchases, or unless the contracts are made pursuant to G.S.115C‑47(28) and G.S. 115C‑528 and adequate funds are available topay in the current fiscal year the sums obligated for the current fiscal year.The State Board of Education shall adopt rules regarding equipment standardsfor supplies, equipment, and materials related to student transportation. TheState Board may adopt guidelines for any commodity that needs safety features.If a commodity that needs safety features is available on statewide termcontract, any guidelines adopted by the State Board must at a minimum meet thesafety standards of the statewide term contract. Compliance with Article 8 of Chapter143 of the General Statutes is not mandatory for the purchase of publishedbooks, manuscripts, maps, pamphlets, and periodicals.

(1)        Where competition isavailable, local school administrative units may utilize the:

a.         E‑Quoteservice of the NC E‑Procurement system as one means of solicitation inseeking informal bids for purchases subject to the bidding requirements of G.S.143‑131; and

b.         Division of Purchaseand Contract's electronic Interactive Purchasing System as one means ofadvertising formal bids on purchases subject to the bidding requirements ofG.S. 143‑129 and applicable rules regarding advertising. This sub‑subdivisiondoes not prohibit a local school administrative unit from using other methodsof advertising.

(2)        In order to providean efficient transition of purchasing procedures, the Secretary of theDepartment of Administration and the local school administrative units shallestablish a local school administrative unit purchasing user group. The usergroup shall be comprised of a proportionate number of representatives from theDepartment of Administration and local school administrative unit purchasingand finance officers. The user group shall examine any issues that may arisebetween the Department of Administration and local school administrative units,including the new relationship between the Department and the local schooladministrative units, the appropriate exchange of information, the continuedefficient use of E‑Procurement, appropriate bid procedures, and any othertechnical assistance that may be necessary for the purchase of supplies andmaterials.

(b)        It shall be theduty of the local boards of education to provide suitable school furniture andapparatus, as provided in G.S. 115C‑521(b).

(c)        It shall be theduty of local boards of education and tax‑levying authorities to providesuitable supplies for the school buildings under their jurisdictions. Theseshall include, in addition to the necessary instructional supplies, properwindow shades, blackboards, reference books, library equipment, maps, andequipment for teaching the sciences.

Likewise, it shall be the dutyof said boards of education and boards of county commissioners to provide everyschool with a good supply of water, approved by the Department of Environmentand Natural Resources, and where such school cannot be connected to water‑carriedsewerage facilities, there shall be provided sanitary privies for the boys andfor the girls according to specifications of the Commission for Public Health.Such water supply and sanitary privies shall be considered an essential andnecessary part of the equipment of each public school and may be paid for inthe same manner as desks and other essential equipment of the school are paidfor. (1955, c.1352, art. 5, s. 35; art. 15, s. 8; 1965, c. 840; 1973, c. 476, s. 128; 1981,c. 423, s. 1; 1985, c. 436, s. 2; 1989, c. 727, s. 219(33); 1995 (Reg. Sess.,1996), c. 716, s. 13; 1997‑443, s. 11A.51; 1998‑194, s. 2; 2003‑147,s. 1; 2004‑199, s. 29(a); 2004‑203, s. 72(b); 2007‑182, s. 2.)