BuyBoard®, California School Boards Association Collaborate

Austin— The National Purchasing Cooperative d/b/a BuyBoard® and the California School Boards Association (CSBA) announced today that the organizations have entered into an agreement to bring more visibility to a streamlined cooperative procurement process available to school districts and county offices of education in California, helping support public education in the state. 

BuyBoard is a nationwide purchasing cooperative and already includes more than 50 participating California school districts. The agreement with CSBA will make it easier for more California school districts and county offices of education to learn about the benefits of BuyBoard’s easy-to-use online purchasing platform that features products ranging from pens and pencils to furniture and stadium lighting.  

“CSBA is excited to partner with BuyBoard and provide our members access to one of the country’s largest marketplaces focused specifically on elementary and secondary schools,” CSBA CEO and Executive Director Vernon M. Billy said. “BuyBoard allows local educational agencies to save resources and money by consolidating a nearly limitless supply of goods and services under one roof and offering discounts through group purchasing power. Every time a California school district uses BuyBoard, they will achieve time and cost efficiencies that can be redirected toward student support and services.”    

BuyBoard has been serving school districts, higher education, and state and local governmental entities since the first BuyBoard cooperative purchasing program was established in Texas in 1998 and works to achieve better pricing for participating members through economies of scale and reduced administrative costs. Products and services available from vendors on BuyBoard are competitively procured and vetted, which may save members time and resources from having to go out to bid on their own. The cooperative also features an RFQ tool within the purchasing platform to solicit quotes from multiple vendors for awarded products and services at the same time.   

“In addition to offering visibility to a quality service available to school districts in California, this agreement solidifies the relationship between our states’ associations,” said Brian Bolinger, associate executive director at the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), which administers BuyBoard. “As two of the largest states in the U.S., it is important that we build bridges that ultimately help strengthen public education for our students.” 

BuyBoard is active in every state and has millions of products and services available from more than 1,800 vendors across the country. By becoming a BuyBoard sponsoring association, CSBA is the 20th school boards association to sponsor BuyBoard. 

About the BuyBoard National Purchasing Cooperative 

Since its inception, the BuyBoard has been increasing the purchasing power of public schools, municipalities, counties, colleges, universities, and governmental entities. The Cooperative simplifies procurement for its members with a customized purchasing system called the BuyBoard. The National Purchasing Cooperative was created in 2010, opening up membership to governmental entities outside the state of Texas. 

About the California School Boards Association 

CSBA is the nonprofit education association representing the elected officials who govern public school districts and county offices of education. With a membership of nearly 1,000 educational agencies statewide, CSBA brings together school governing boards, and administrators from districts and county offices of education to advocate for effective policies that advance the education and well-being of the state’s more than six million school-age children.