Competitive bidding is a process under which a board of education must advertise and seek formal bids from potential vendors before making a purchase for the district. For most purchases, school boards are not required to use competitive bidding. However, Ohio laws require boards of education to use competitive bidding for certain construction, repairs and improvements of school property and for the purchase of school buses. These procedures are designed to preserve the integrity of public contracts and are strictly construed and enforced by the courts. The legislative intent of competitive bidding is to provide for open and honest competition in bidding for public contracts and to hold the public, as well as bidders themselves, harmless from any kind of favoritism or fraud (Bd. of Edn. v. Sever-Williams Co., 22 Ohio St.2d 107 (1970)).
OSBA fact sheet: Competitive Bidding
OSBA Legal Ledger, July 17, 2017, Paving and competitive bidding
RC 3313.46
RC 9.312
For more information, please contact Lenore Winfrey, diversity and legal affairs manager, at (614) 540-4000.