New Jersey § 18a:18a-2

§ 18a:18a-2.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates: a. “ Board of education ” means and includes the board of education of any local school district, consolidated

school district, regional school district, county vocational school and any other

board of education or other similar body other than the State Board of Education,

the Commission on Higher Education or the Presidents' Council, established and operating

under the provisions of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and having authority

to make purchases and to enter into contracts for the provision or performance of goods or services . The term “ board of education ” also shall include the board of trustees of a charter school established under P.L.1995, c. 426 ( C.18A:36A-1 et seq. ). b. “ ContractingPurchasing agent ” means the secretary, business administrator or the business manager of the board

of education duly assigned the authority, responsibility and accountability for the purchasing

activity of the board of education and having the power to prepare advertisements, to advertise for and receive bids and

to award contracts as permitted by this chapter, but if there be no secretary, business administrator

or business manager , such officer, committees or employees to whom such power has been delegated by the

board of education. c. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c. 440 .) d. “ District ” means and includes any local school district, consolidated school district, regional

school district, county vocational school and any other board of education or other

similar body other than the State board, established under the provisions of Title

18A of the New Jersey Statutes. e. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c. 440 .) f. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c. 440 .) g. “ Extraordinary unspecifiable services ” means services which are specialized and qualitative in nature requiring expertise,

extensive training and proven reputation in the field of endeavor. h. “ Professional services ” means services rendered or performed by a person authorized by law to practice a

recognized profession and whose practice is regulated by law and the performance of

which services requires knowledge of an advanced type in a field of learning acquired

by a prolonged formal course of specialized instruction and study as distinguished

from general academic instruction or apprenticeship and training. Professional services may also mean services rendered in the provision or performance of goods or services that are original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor. i. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c. 440 .) j. “ Purchases ” means transactions, for a valuable consideration, creating or acquiring an interest in

goods, services and property, except real property or any interest therein. k. “ Work ” means any task, program, undertaking, or activity, related to any development, redevelopment,

construction or reconstruction performed or provided pursuant to a contract with a board of education. l . “ Aggregate ” means the sums expended or to be expended for the provision or performance of any

goods or services in connection with the same immediate purpose or task, or the furnishing

of similar goods or services, during the same contract year through a contract awarded

by a purchasing agent. m. “ Bid threshold ” means the dollar amount set in N.J .S.18A:18A-3 , above which a board of education shall advertise for and receive sealed bids in

accordance with procedures set forth in N.J.S.18A:18A-1 et seq. n. “ Contract ” means any agreement, including but not limited to a purchase order or a formal agreement,

which is a legally binding relationship enforceable by law, between a vendor who agrees

to provide or perform goods or services and a board of education which agrees to compensate

a vendor, as defined by and subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement. A contract also may include an arrangement whereby a vendor compensates a board

of education for the vendor's right to perform a service, such as, but not limited

to, operating a concession. o . “ Contract year ” means the period of 12 consecutive months following the award of a contract. p. “ Competitive contracting ” means the method described in sections 45 through 49 of P.L.1999, c. 440 ( C.18A:18A-4.1 through C.18A:18A-4.5 ) of contracting for specialized goods and services in which formal proposals are

solicited from vendors; formal proposals are evaluated by the purchasing agent or

counsel or school business administrator; and the board of education awards a contract

to a vendor or vendors from among the formal proposals received. q. “ Goods and services ” or “ goods or services ” means any work, labor, commodities, equipment, materials, or supplies of any tangible

or intangible nature, except real property or any interest therein, provided or performed

through a contract awarded by a purchasing agent, including goods and property subject

to N.J.S.12A:2-101 et seq. r. “ Library and educational goods and services ” means textbooks, copyrighted materials, student produced publications and services

incidental thereto, including but not limited to books, periodicals, newspapers, documents,

pamphlets, photographs, reproductions, microfilms, pictorial or graphic works, musical

scores, maps, charts, globes, sound recordings, slides, films, filmstrips, video and

magnetic tapes, other printed or published matter and audiovisual and other materials

of a similar nature, necessary binding or rebinding of library materials, and specialized

computer software used as a supplement or in lieu of textbooks or reference material. s. “ Lowest price ” means the least possible amount that meets all requirements of the request of a

purchasing agent. t. “ Lowest responsible bidder or vendor ” means the bidder or vendor: (1) whose response to a request for bids offers the

lowest price and is responsive; and (2) who is responsible. u. “ Official newspaper ” means any newspaper designated by the board of education pursuant to R.S.35:1-1 et seq. v. “ Purchase order ” means a document issued by the purchasing agent authorizing a purchase transaction

with a vendor to provide or perform goods or services to the board of education, which,

when fulfilled in accordance with the terms and conditions of a request of a purchasing

agent and other provisions and procedures that may be established by the board of

education, will result in payment by the board of education. w. “ Quotation ” means the response to a formal or informal request made by a purchasing agent to

a vendor for provision or performance of goods or services, when the aggregate cost

is less than the bid threshold. Quotations may be in writing, or taken verbally if a record is kept by the purchasing

agent. x. “ Responsible ” means able to complete the contract in accordance with its requirements, including

but not limited to requirements pertaining to experience, moral integrity, operating

capacity, financial capacity, credit, and workforce, equipment, and facilities availability. y. “ Responsive ” means conforming in all material respects to the terms and conditions, specifications,

legal requirements, and other provisions of the request. z. “ Public works ” means building, altering, repairing, improving or demolishing any public structure

or facility constructed or acquired by a board of education to house school district

functions or provide water, waste disposal, power, transportation and other public

infrastructures . aa. “ Concession ” means the granting of a license or right to act for or on behalf of the board of

education, or to provide a service requiring the approval or endorsement of the board

of education, and which may or may not involve a payment or exchange, or provision

of services by or to the board of education, provided that the term concession shall

not include vending machines. bb. “ Index rate ” means the rate of annual percentage increase, rounded to the nearest half-percent,

in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and

Services, computed and published quarterly by the United States Department of Commerce,

Bureau of Economic Analysis. cc. “ Proprietary ” means goods or services of a specialized nature, that may be made or marketed by

a person or persons having the exclusive right to make or sell them, when the need

for such goods or services has been certified in writing by the board of education

to be necessary for the conduct of its affairs. dd. “ Service or services ” means the performance of work, or the furnishing of labor, time, or effort, or any

combination thereof, not involving or connected to the delivery or ownership of a

specified end product or goods or a manufacturing process. Service or services may also include an arrangement in which a vendor compensates

the board of education for the vendor's right to operate a concession.