House Bill 1158

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT A TIMETABLE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SHARED SERVICES OFFICE SYSTEM IN EACH COUNTY IN THE STATE UNDER WHICH ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS LOCATED IN THE COUNTY SHALL UTILIZE ONE CENTRAL OFFICE FOR PAYROLL, PROCUREMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, TRANSPORTATION, DATA PROCESSING AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES; TO PROVIDE FOR A PILOT OF SAID CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SHARED SERVICES OFFICE SYSTEM IN CERTAIN COUNTIES IN SCHOOL YEAR 2013-2014 AND STATEWIDE IMPLEMENTATION IN SCHOOL YEAR 2014-2015; TO AUTHORIZE FEES FOR SERVICES; TO REQUIRE CONSOLIDATION OF THE VARIOUS ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES BY THE LOCAL SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS; TO REQUIRE CERTAIN REPORTS TO THE LEGISLATURE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 31-7-12, 37-7-345, 37-39-1, 37-39-5, 37-39-15, 37-39-17, 37-39-21, 37-39-23, 37-39-25 AND 37-41-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) The State Board of Education and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration shall jointly promulgate policies, procedures, rules and regulations to implement a timetable for the establishment of a Central School District Shared Services Office System in each county in the state under which all school districts located in the county shall utilize one (1) central office for the following administrative functions: (a) payroll; (b) fiscal management; (c) procurement; (d) human resources; (e) transportation; (f) data processing; and (g) any other service affected by these systems.

(2) The State Board of Education and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration shall develop standards for the Central School District Shared Services Office System and select two (2) counties per Mississippi Congressional District to pilot the implementation of the system in the 2013-2014 school year. Following this pilot year, the State Board of Education and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration shall issue rules and regulations for statewide implementation of the Central School District Shared Services Office school year 2014-2015.

The State Board of Education and the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall develop an implementation plan to bring the services described in this section online for all school districts in the various counties in an orderly transition, beginning on July 1, 2014. The implementation plan shall be subject to approval by the Governor. The implementation plan shall include identification of all potential savings and efficiencies to be gained from the implementation of the Central School District Shared Services Office System. The rules and regulations may authorize that each payroll and other procurement service may be brought online in a one-service-at-a-time manner. The State Board of Education and the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall by rule describe the payroll and procurement services to be provided by the Central School District Shared Services Office in each county and its applicability to each school district. After approval by the Governor, the superintendent of schools of each school district shall comply with the schedule of services developed and issued by the State Board of Education and the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, and the various school districts located in the county shall not be authorized to spend appropriated funds to provide or contract for said services except through the Central School District Shared Services Office of that county.

(3) After full implementation of the schedule of services, the Central School District Shared Services Office in each county shall be authorized to set and charge a fee to each school district that receives a shared payroll, procurement or other administrative service from the central county office in an amount sufficient to cover the direct and indirect cost of providing the service.

(4) The State Department of Education and the Department of Finance and Administration shall jointly study and make a report to the Legislature at the 2013 Regular Session regarding the anticipated savings and efficiencies to be gained resulting from the consolidation of the administrative functions of school districts to be implemented under this section. Such report shall include any technical, legislative or administrative recommendations for further consolidation of the payroll, procurement and other administrative functions of school districts. Such report shall also include an administrative recommendation for the consolidation or outsourcing of shared information technology, computer and telecommunications services for all school districts, in conjunction with the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services.

SECTION 2. Section 31-7-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

31-7-12. (1) Except in regard to purchases of unmarked vehicles made in accordance with purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2), all agencies shall purchase commodities at the state contract price from the approved source, unless approval is granted by the Department of Finance and Administration to solicit purchases outside the terms of the contracts. However, prices accepted by an agency shall be less than the prices set by the state contract. Prices accepted by an agency shall be obtained in compliance with paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of Section 31-7-13. It shall be the responsibility of the Department of Finance and Administration to ascertain that the resulting prices shall provide a cost effective alternative to the established state contract.

(2) Governing authorities may purchase commodities approved by the Department of Finance and Administration from the state contract vendor, or from any source offering the identical commodity, at a price not exceeding the state contract price established by the Department of Finance and Administration for such commodity, without obtaining or advertising for competitive bids. Governing authorities that do not exercise the option to purchase such commodities from the state contract vendor or from another source offering the identical commodity at a price not exceeding the state contract price established by the Department of Finance and Administration shall make such purchases pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-7-13 without regard to state contract prices established by the Department of Finance and Administration, unless such purchases are authorized to be made under subsection (5) of this section.

(3) Nothing in this section shall prohibit governing authorities from purchasing, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, commodities approved by the Department of Finance and Administration at a price not exceeding the state contract price established by the Department of Finance and Administration.

(4) The Department of Finance and Administration shall ensure that the prices of all commodities on the state contract are the lowest and best prices available from any source offering that commodity at the same level of quality or service, utilizing the reasonable standards established therefor by the Department of Finance and Administration. If the Department of Finance and Administration does not list an approved price for the particular item involved, purchase shall be made according to statutory bidding and licensing requirements. To encourage prudent purchasing practices, the Department of Finance and Administration shall be authorized and empowered to exempt certain commodities from the requirement that the lowest and best price be approved by order placed on its minutes.

(5) Any school district may purchase commodities from vendors with which any levying authority of the school district, as defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive bidding procedures pursuant to Section 31-7-13 for purchases of the same commodities. Purchases authorized by this subsection may be made by a school district without obtaining or advertising for competitive bids, and such purchases shall be made at the same prices and under the same conditions as purchases of the same commodities are to be made by the levying authority of the school district under the contract with the vendor except for commodities from vendors with which the Central School District Shared Services Office System has contracted through competitive bidding procedures.

SECTION 3. Section 37-7-345, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-345. (1) A regional educational service agency (RESA) may be established in a region of the state when twelve (12) or more school districts determine there are benefits and services that can be derived from the collective and collaborative formation of an agency for the purpose of pooling and leveraging resources for the common benefit of students, teachers, administrators and taxpayers. An educational service agency shall be incorporated in the State of Mississippi and organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi as a nonprofit corporation. The educational service agency shall obtain 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service.

(2) The operation and management of the educational service agency shall be the responsibility of a public advisory board composed of the superintendents of schools or their designees from each participating school district.

(3) A board of directors shall be elected on an annual basis from the advisory board to oversee the day-to-day operations of the agency.

(4) The executive board shall hire an executive director to serve as the executive agent of the board of the regional educational service agency.

(5) The board of directors of a regional educational service agency shall have the authority to establish policies for the regional educational service to determine the programs and services to be provided, to employ staff, to prepare and expend the budget, to provide for financing programs and projects of the regional educational service agency, and to annually evaluate the performance of the agency. The board may purchase, hold, encumber and dispose of real property, in the name of the agency, for use as its office or for any educational service provided by the agency.

(6) The educational service agency is authorized and empowered to: develop, manage and provide support services and/or programs as determined by the needs of the local school district. Educational service agencies (ESAs) shall:

(a) Act primarily as service agencies in providing services and/or programs as identified and requested by member school districts (services may include, but are not limited to, professional development, instructional materials, educational technology, curriculum development and alternative educational programs);

(b) Provide for economy, efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the cooperative delivery and purchase or lease of educational services, materials and products (services may include, but are not limited to, purchasing cooperatives, insurance cooperatives, business manager services, auditing and accounting services, school safety/risk prevention, and data processing and student records);

(c) Provide administrative services (services may include, but are not limited to, communications/public information, employee background checks, grants management, printing/publications and internships);

(d) Provide educational services through leadership, research and development in elementary and secondary education;

(e) Act in a cooperative and supportive role, including contracting, with the Mississippi Department of Education, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, Mississippi community colleges and other state educational organizations in the development and implementation of long-range plans, strategies and goals for the enhancement of educational opportunities in elementary and secondary education; * * *

(f) Serve, when appropriate and as funds become available, as a repository, clearinghouse and administrator of federal, state, local and private funds on behalf of school districts which choose to participate in special programs, projects or grants in order to enhance the quality of education in Mississippi schools; and

(g) Effective July 1, 2013, Regional Education Service Agencies shall be authorized to enter into agreements with the Central School District Shared Services Office System pursuant to a request for proposals to establish and operate regional purchasing and procurement office functions for school districts as required under Section 1 of this act, and to expend funds provided for this purpose.

(7) The State Board of Education shall have the authority to contract with and provide funds to Regional Educational Service Agencies for any education-related service.

SECTION 4. Section 37-39-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-1. The following words and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall, for the purpose of this chapter, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section:

(a) "Perishables" shall mean items which have a variable market price on which vendors are unable to submit a long-range price such as fruits and vegetables.

(b) "Purchasing agent" shall mean the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county.

(c) "School boards" shall mean the local governing boards of all school districts in the state, whether they act jointly or separately.

(d) "Services" shall mean maintenance, operational and scholastic services utilized within and for the school district or school districts.

SECTION 5. Section 37-39-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-5. It shall be the duty of each school board to make or cause to be made, a list of goods and services as required by the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county, including quality specifications when applicable, regularly used in the schools under its supervision, and to maintain such a list in locations to be determined by the Central School District Shared Services Office System. Such list shall be used by the Central School District Shared Services Office System in obtaining competitive bids for the goods and services to be purchased, and shall be available to any interested persons.

SECTION 6. Section 37-39-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-15. * * * In connection with the purchase of necessary goods and services for the conduct of regular school operations, school boards shall designate as their purchasing agent or agents the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county to make such purchases * * * subject to competitive bid requirements in Section 31-7-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972.

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SECTION 7. Section 37-39-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-17. Purchases of items regularly used in connection with school operation * * * made from the petty cash fund in small quantities of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or less may be made without the necessity of requiring competitive bids or quotations, but shall be purchased by contract whenever feasible. School boards shall have the authority, however, to award such small purchases to different points in the school district or county * * * when the best interests of the district or county warrant such action. * * *

SECTION 8. Section 37-39-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-21. The purchasing agent of the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county, before entering upon his official duties in such capacity, shall furnish a good and sufficient surety bond in the penal sum of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), with sufficient surety. Such bonds shall be payable, conditioned and approved in the manner provided by law, and shall be filed and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi.

SECTION 9. Section 37-39-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-23. * * * It is the purpose of Section 37-39-1 et seq. to enable the school systems to achieve economies of scale through increased purchasing power to the end that the education tax revenues be utilized efficiently.

SECTION 10. Section 37-39-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-39-25. (1) * * * The school board shall appoint the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county as purchasing agent who shall be responsible * * * for all purchases of competitively priced services, materials and supplies, subject to the provision of Section 1 of this act. * * * The purchasing agent shall serve all of the school districts acting jointly. There shall not be a separate purchasing agent for the separate school districts * * *.

(2) The Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county may arrange for purchase, storage and distribution of the goods and services purchased jointly. The costs involved in purchase, transportation, storage, administration and any other activity regarding * * * purchases by the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county shall be shared among the participating districts on a pro rata basis.

SECTION 11. Section 37-41-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-41-101. (1) The Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to advertise for and receive sealed bids and proposals for sale of school bus bodies and school buses sold as complete units to the school boards of school districts in this state, pursuant to the requirements of Section 1 of this act. The Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county shall approve persons, firms, corporations or associations authorized to sell school bus bodies and school buses sold as complete units, and shall establish prices relative thereto based upon the lowest and best bids, which school districts may not exceed in purchasing such equipment. In determining the lowest and best bids received for such equipment, there shall be included as part of the total cost thereof any transportation or freight charges which will be incurred. The Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county may permit all such bidders to sell said equipment provided that the bidders agree to sell the equipment at prices established based upon the lowest and best bid and in compliance with rules and regulations relative thereto promulgated by the state board. Persons, firms, corporations or associations permitted to sell school bus bodies and school buses sold as complete units shall be limited to those actually submitting bids for consideration by the Central School District Shared Services Office System. The Central School District Shared Services Office System shall reserve the right to reject any and all bids submitted.

(2) The Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county may purchase school bus bodies and school buses sold as complete units without additional advertisement for bids, provided that the prices for such equipment do not exceed the maximum allowable prices established under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, and that said purchases are in compliance with the conditions specified therein. All such purchases shall be subject to the approval of the Central School District Shared Services Office System which shall verify compliance with the applicable specifications, rules and regulations * * *.

(3) In addition to the method of purchasing authorized under this section, the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county is hereby authorized to advertise for and accept the lowest and best bid received for the purchase of school bus chassis and/or pupil transportation service vehicles. Provided, however, that the Central School District Shared Services Office System may purchase school bus chassis and/or pupil transportation service vehicles from any motor vehicle dealer domiciled within the county of such school district, whose bid does not exceed a sum equal to three percent (3%) greater than the price or cost which the dealer pays the manufacturer, as evidenced by the factory invoice for such vehicles. In the event said county does not have an authorized motor vehicle dealer, said Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county may, in like manner, receive and accept bids from motor vehicle dealers in any adjoining county. No purchase of school bus chassis or service vehicles under the provisions of this subsection shall be valid unless the purchase is made according to statutory bidding and licensing requirements. All purchases under provisions of this subsection shall be subject to the approval of the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county, which shall verify compliance with the applicable specifications, rules and regulations * * *.

(4) * * * The Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county is hereby authorized to purchase used school buses and used pupil transportation service vehicles, provided that said vehicles meet applicable specifications and the purchase price does not exceed their fair market value. Said fair market value shall be determined by an appraisal by three (3) experienced and impartial citizens, the selection of whom shall be mutually agreed upon by the parties thereto. Said appraisers may be subject to approval by the Central School District Shared Services Office System. Maximum regard for pupil safety and adequate protection of health shall be primary requirements which shall be observed by the Central School District Shared Services Office System in purchasing used school buses. The Central School District Shared Services Office System may inspect or have inspected any used school bus prior to purchase to determine whether said bus meets requirements of law and regulations of the Central School District Shared Services Office System.

(5) In the event the school board shall have determined that school buses or pupil transportation service vehicles are no longer needed for the transportation of pupils in such school district, such equipment may be sold to another school district without the necessity of advertising for bids. The school district proposing to sell the buses or service vehicles and the school district proposing to purchase such equipment shall agree upon a fair and reasonable price therefor. The agreement shall be spread upon the minutes of the boards of the respective school districts and shall be subject to the prior approval of the Central School District Shared Services Office System of the county, which shall verify compliance with applicable specifications, rules and regulations * * *.

SECTION 12. Section 1 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012; the remaining sections in this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.