Contracts

San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education

Administrative Regulation 3312

 

This Administrative Regulation applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.

 

A school or District department that wishes to secure goods or services from vendors or contractors (“District Sponsor”) must complete a written contract signed by both parties.

 

I. Authority to Accept Goods and Services

A. Contracts over delegable amount in Public Contract Code (currently, $114,800): District employees are not authorized to accept services/goods before a contract has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Education. Contractors, who provide services or goods without an approved contract, risk non-payment, and shall be so advised. 

B. Contracts under delegable amount in Public Contract Code: District employees are not authorized to accept services before a contract has been duly executed and the Procurement Department has issued a Purchase Order. Contractors, who provide services or goods without a duly executed contract and Purchase Order, risk non-payment, and shall be so advised. Contracts under the delegable amount are submitted for Board ratification.

C. District Sponsors who wish to obtain approval for a retroactive contract, or a contract completed after services have begun, must follow the process set forth below. See § VI: Process to Seek Approval of Retroactive Contract.

 

II. Process to Complete a Contract with GoFAST. All District Contracts must be processed for approval or ratification using the District’s financial system, GoFAST. Please note: Master Contracts follow a separate process which is set forth below. See § IX: Master Contracts, below

A. Contract Completion: Contracts must be completed using District templates. Templates are found on the Procurement Department’s intranet site under the Contract Forms heading. 

1. The District Sponsor should open, fill out and save all templates and forms in Microsoft Word (not in Google Docs). Complete ALL fields with requested information. Obtain a W-9 from the contractor and enter the information into the contract packet.

2. Changes to the District templates may only be authorized by the Procurement Department, in consultation with the Legal Department.  

3. District employees must complete templates. District employees may not send contracts to the contractor with the intent that they complete the template. 

B. Steps to Process the Contract in GoFAST

1. Step 1—Sign & Complete the Contract: Each contract must have two District signatures. The District Sponsor (manager, site leader, department staff) completes the contract in collaboration with the vendor and obtains their supervisor’s signature before seeking budget or other approvals. The second signature must be the Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Head/Officer of Department, or General Counsel. Contracts which are not duly executed by two District signatories and the Contractor will be automatically rejected.

2. Step 2—Load the Contract into GoFAST: District Sponsor enters the request for requisition into GoFAST and attaches the fully executed contract.

3. Step 3—GoFAST Electronically Routes Approvals: The requisition and contract is electronically routed for approvals through GoFAST (Department manager, Budget Office, Fund Manager, and the following as necessary: State and Federal, Legal Department, Risk Management, Head Financial Officer, Superintendent’s Office, Procurement Department, and Department of Technology for technology and security standards review and approval, when contract involves technology).

4. Step 4—Procurement Department Loads Onto Board Agenda: Procurement Department reviews and approves contract and adds insurance certificate (if required) and either places it on the Board agenda for bundled approvals (over $114,800) or bundles the contract with other contracts for ratification (under $114,800).

5. Step 5—Board Approves or Ratifies: Upon approval from the Procurement Department, contracts under $114,800 receive a Purchase Order and services begin. Contracts over $114,800 must wait for Board approval before a Purchase Order is issued and services begin.

 

III. Authority to Sign Contracts. Only designated District employees have authority to sign contracts. 

A. All District template contracts must be signed by one employee from each of the following two categories:

1. The District Sponsor who is requesting the contract (principal or department staff); and

2. The Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Department/Officer Head, or General Counsel.

3. For contracts under the delegable amount involving LEAD, Executive Directors may sign on behalf of the Assistant Superintendent.

B. District template contracts which have been modified, individually negotiated contracts, and contracts on the vendor’s form contract (which is strongly discouraged), must also contain the signature of District legal counsel approving the agreement as to form. 

C. If the contract is for technology software and/or requires personally identifiable information (PII), the contract requires Department of Technology approval.

D. All other approvals (i.e., Financial Services Officer, State and Federal Programs, Procurement Department) will occur electronically through GoFAST.

E. No other vendor agreements or term sheets should be signed by District employees; the duly signed and District authorized contract should be the only agreement between the parties. 

 

IV. Responsibility to Review Contract Terms. 

A. Executed contracts will be electronically routed for review and approval to the following managers and departments:

1. Program Manager/Fund manager

2. Budget Office

3. Procurement Department

B. Agreements that use state or federal restricted funding must be approved by the State and Federal Programs Office.

C. Agreements over the delegable limit in Public Contract Code § 20111 (currently, $114,800) and customized agreements which are not on the District’s pre-approved templates will be routed by the Procurement Department to the Legal Department.

D. Agreements that procure technology or software will be routed by the  Procurement Department to the Department of Technology before being routed to Legal for review. If platform/software does not meet District technology and security standards, the contract will require Superintendent Office’s approval before moving forward in the process.

E. Each of these departments are reviewing and validating specific criteria. A list of each department’s validation criteria can be found here: Validation Requirements.

 

V. Scope of Work. The Scope of Work in the contract should be as specific and detailed as possible. Scope of Work must outline exactly what services the contractor is expected to provide and what the contractor must do to earn the contractual fees. The Scope of Work should be sufficiently detailed to allow the District to hold the contractor accountable for performing the services.

 

VI. Process to Seek Approval of Retroactive Contract. If services have begun either before a contract has been approved by the Board or before a Purchase Order has been issued, the contract is retroactive. Retroactive contracts violate Board Policy and staff are not authorized to accept services before a contract has been reviewed and approved as required by Board policy and this administrative regulation. 

A. In limited and emergency situations, a staff member may need to accept services prior to the contract being executed/Purchase Order issued, or having been approved by the Board of Education when over the delegable amount. The below process should only be used in emergency situations as employees are not authorized to accept services without an executed contract and Board approval, when necessary. See also Education Code § 17604 (“In the event of malfeasance in office, the school district officer or employee invested by the governing board with the power to contract shall be personally liable for any and all moneys of the district paid out as a result of the malfeasance.”). 

B. For  ALL retroactive  contracts both above and below the delegable amounts, the Department Sponsor of the contract must obtain approval from their Supervisor prior to submitting the retroactive contract to GoFAST by completing the Retroactive Contract Cover Sheet signed by their supervisor that addresses the following:

Name of the Department seeking an exception

Number of times department has sought an exception to the Board Policy this school year

Name of Vendor

Purpose of Contract

Date when services began

Explanation of why contract was not submitted in a timely fashion

Description of remedial action developed with their supervisor 

Certification of review of the following documents:

Quick Guide – Submitting Contracts Through Gofast

Validation Requirements When Submitting of Approving a Contract for the GoFAST System 

 

C. Contracts below the delegable amount: Upon approval by the Superintendent, the Procurement Department will submit contracts below the delegable amount for ratification by the Board of Education.

D. Contracts above the delegable amount: the Procurement Department will inform the Sponsoring Department that the Superintendent has approved the submission of a retroactive contract for approval by the Board of Education. The Sponsoring Department shall submit the consent  item as follows:

1. Select the approval tree for their Division (Retroactive Contract); and

2. Attach the contract for which the Department Sponsor is seeking approval.

 

 

VII. Amendments. A contract may be amended for many reasons, including: to extend the contract end date; to adjust the contract value; to change payment terms (the not-to exceed-amount or hourly rate); or to otherwise alter the contract’s terms. Extending the term of an expired contract or decreasing services require the approval from the Procurement and Legal Department. 

A. Contracts should be amended using an amendment template. Process to Complete Amendments:

1. Contract amendment template is completed.

2. Amendment is fully executed with the following signatures: (a) the contractor’s signature; and (b) the department or school administrator’s signature; and (c) either the signature of the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Officer, Department Head or General Counsel. 

3. The requisition is amended by attaching the amendment to the front of the original contract and entering the required information into and uploading to GoFAST.

B. The District Sponsor should use the same process as for the original contract. After completing step 3 above, the Amendment will route through GoFAST for approval.

 

VIII. Master Contracts. A Master Contract (a zero-dollar contract) is a contract negotiated by the District and under which any department or school can request services without having to enter into a separate contract. Instead, schools and departments may use a short-form Individual Services Agreement (ISA) to obtain services under the Master Contract.

A. ISAs are approved in the same manner as contracts, as described above. Because most of the material terms have already been negotiated in the Master Contract, the ISA should proceed quickly through the approval process.

B. District Sponsors who wish to obtain a new Master Contract should contact the Procurement Department for assistance.

REVISED: January 2025

August 2023

October 2023

January 2024

 

Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.