Department of Purchasing

Welcome to the Rochester City School District - Purchasing Department's website. Our site is designed to assist current and potential suppliers and contractors wishing to conduct business with the District.

Vendors are invited to visit our Obtaining Bids & Proposals section, where you can download current Requests for Information, Invitations to Bid and Requests for Proposals.

Suppliers and those interested in doing business with the District are encouraged to view the Purchase Order terms and conditions and the Purchasing Ethics guide which outlines the policies and procedures that apply when doing business with the District.

It is the goal of the Purchasing Department to obtain the best value for goods and services for the students, teachers, administration, and staff of the District to the best of our ability. The Purchasing Department always strives to obtain goods and/or services of the right quality, in the right quantity, at the right price, from the right source, with delivery at the right time. In doing so, the Purchasing Department contributes to the success of the educational process.

The Purchasing Department issues more than 5,500 purchase orders annually, totaling more than $170,000,000.

The Department’s goal is to obtain the best value for goods and services while complying with New York State General Municipal Law which requires competitively bidding purchases for goods and services greater than $20,000 and public works greater than $35,000. This process includes research, specification writing, publishing on BidNet, bid advertisement, receipt and opening of bids, bids analysis and contract award.

The Department processes approximately 150 contracts and contract extensions annually. The RCSD is also eligible to buy from NY State contracts, Monroe County contracts, correctional institutions and BOCES contracts. Purchasing evaluates which contracts best benefit the District.

We welcome your suggestions and comments to assist in streamlining the purchasing process.

Our main phone number is: (585) 262-8765

The Rochester City School District does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim status or political affiliation, and additionally does not discriminate against students on the basis of weight, gender identity, gender expression, and religious practices or any other basis prohibited by New York State and/or federal non-discrimination laws in employment or its programs and activities. The District provides equal access to community and youth organizations. NYS CR Part #154 requires the District to provide communications to ELL families in the home language that they best understand. In order to request interpretation or translation services, employees may visit www.rcsdk12.org/translationservices. For emergencies or immediate communication needs, please use the Language Line at 1-866-874-3972. School secretaries in each school or program can provide the access code for this service.