Competitive Bid Law

The Allen Independent School District, as well as all other school districts in the State of Texas, is governed by the state competitive bid law.  Therefore, the majority of our purchasing is done via competitive bids.  The purpose and intent for the competitive bidding process is to help public schools obtain the best products at the lowest practical prices in the best interest of the taxpayers by stimulating competition.  Allen ISD is committed to fair and equal competition among all vendors.  In addition, the state competitive bid law does not allow favoritism to be shown to any vendor.

Vendor/Supplier Registration

We request that all prospective vendors register on our e-bid site so that they may be notified of upcoming bids and may submit bids in their respective fields.   When a need exists for your product or service; your company will automatically receive an e-mail advising that a bid is now available in your area of interest.  The Allen Independent School District encourages participation by all vendors and does not discriminate against any vendor because of race, color, national origin, age, religion, gender or handicapping condition.

Vendor/Supplier Responsibility

It will be the sole responsibility of each vendor/supplier to maintain, and keep current, their company's information on our e-bidding website.  In the event of a contact person name change, address, phone, etc., it will be necessary for the vendor/supplier to edit their company information on the e-bid site.  Passwords can be reset by the Allen ISD Purchasing Department at (972-727-7114).  It is understood that all bid notifications will be sent to the e-mail address supplied by the vendor; therefore, in the event of an e-mail address change or ISP change, it is imperative that the vendor information be kept current.  Otherwise, bid notifications will never be received by vendor and the opportunity for bid submittal will be lost.

Tax Exemption

The Allen Independent School District is tax exempt on the basis that it is a governmental entity -- school district.  A tax exemption certificate can be sent upon request.

How to Submit Official Competitive Bids

Each invitation to bid will be posted on our e-bidding site and vendors/suppliers can submit their bids online by completing a series of screens.  All invitations to bid that are posted on our e-bidding site, contain the following:

1. Date, time and place bid is to be opened.  It is absolutely mandatory that all bids be delivered in accordance with those instructions.  Bids that are received late are not accepted.  

2. General requirements and conditions. 

3. Detailed specifications.  Many times, brand names and model numbers are utilized in the bid specifications as a way of communicating minimal requirements of the district.  This in no way prevents  a  company from bidding alternates, if specified in bid specs; however, all  deviations must be stated in the bid document or the  bidder will be required to supply the item completely as  specified.  All alternates must meet or exceed the specifications in order to be considered. 

4. Pre-bid meetings.  For many bids, pre-bid meetings are a part of the process.  This information is included in the bid spec.  These meetings are an opportunity for bidders and Allen ISD staff to meet, discuss the bid specifications and ask all questions that are necessary to enable the bidders to prepare their bid response.

All questions pertaining to bid specs must be presented in writing to the Purchasing Department to insure that proper information is included in your bid response and also to insure that all vendors receive the same information.  Purchasing is not responsible for information that is provided by other departments.

Bid Advertisements

By state law, a notice of the time, when and place, where bids will be opened, is published in a newspaper in accordance with state bid law requirements.  Allen ISD has chosen Star Local Media/Allen American as its primary newspaper publication.  Any company or individual, who sees our advertisements and is interested in reviewing the bid specs for possible bid submittal, may log into our e-bidding site to review the same.

Bid Opening Procedures

All bids are opened promptly on the date and at the time stated in the bid specs.  All interested vendors are invited to attend.  All bid openings are public and bids are read aloud and a tabulation of all bids is made at this time.  Bid tabulations are m