Purchase Orders

Many school systems are obligated by law to use purchase orders for all items to be paid for with school funds. Since state auditors check schools regularly your superintendent, principal, and school bookkeepers are probably very interested in seeing that the required procedures are followed.

A purchase order is simply a document that says that someone who works for the school system is authorized to charge something to the school. When the bill from the business comes in, it's supposed to match the purchase order that is already in the school's files. A copy of a typical school purchase order is shown on the next page.

Before you have been to the store and selected the supplies you need, you probably won't know how much your purchase will be; that makes it difficult to get a purchase order in advance. For this reason, many schools issue an open purchase order — a purchase order that is good for up to a certain amount, or a purchase order that will have the exact amount filled in later.

For supplies that are ordered in small increments over the course of the year, some schools issue a purchase order that can be charged to in small amounts until the total charges reach the total amount of the purchase order. For example, a $500 purchase order might be issued to Amro for small supplies; that purchase order number would be used for small purchases until the total charges have reached $500. At that time another purchase order is issued for future purchases. Other schools have an open account that, because it doesn't use state funds, doesn't require a purchase order. An example of this would be a Band Booster account.

It's a good idea to find out your school's policies concerning purchase orders and carefully follow them. It can be important in your relationship with your principal and superintendent.