Pictured from left to right: Josue Muniz, Martha Casanova, Patricia G. Saldivar, Nilda Mora, Raul Garza��

51���� (TSC) was awarded its second Award of Merit for Purchasing Operations by the Texas Association of School Boards Officials (TASBO).��The Award of Merit was��established in 2009 to recognize Texas school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and education services centers that are committed to following professional standards in the acquisition of goods and services in accordance to State of Texas laws.��Out of more than 1,000 school systems in the state, only 71 recipients met the award criteria for 2023. TSC remains the only community college to earn the award.

“These organizations have gone above and beyond to demonstrate transparency by meticulously documenting their districts’ policies and procedures,” said Tracy Ginsburg, TASBO Executive Director. “Not only have they showcased the ways they monitor spending, improve budgeting, implement controls, and enhance financial reporting, but they have shared their best practices with colleagues throughout Texas, helping even more educational organizations to better utilize taxpayer dollars.”

Members of the TSC Purchasing team were honored at an awards reception in San Antonio, Texas, on February 15 during the 2023 TASBO annual conference. Thank you to the Purchasing and Contract Management staff for their hard work, dedication, and commitment in reaching higher standards and taking on new challenges.

“We feel very proud to be recognized as one of the educational institutions and the only community college to receive this merit award for a second time,” said Patricia G. Saldivar, TSC Director of Purchasing. “This award represents the effort in following best practices in the area of purchasing operations, and it continues a tradition of efficiency and effectiveness at TSC.

“A warm thank you to our honorable board of trustees, college president, and department vice president for their leadership and guidance toward ethical practices and transparency for the community. “

Over the last two years, Purchasing and Contract Services, a department that works hard behind the scenes on campus stepped into the spotlight, earning state and national recognition for its attention to detail and transparency in serving the 51���� community.����

The work has paid off two-fold as the department met the criteria to be awarded twice in the span of five months.��

The department received an Award of Merit for Purchasing Operations from the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) in March.��

More recently, they learned that the National Procurement Institute (NPI) is recognizing TSC, for the first time, with the 2022 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award (AEP) ® as decided by NPI’s evaluation committee.����

“Our Purchasing and Contract Services Department has been an exemplary part of TSC’s day-to-day operations for some time now and we are proud that they have been collecting accolades for their commitment to consistency and transparency. This level of professionalism gives businesses and vendors working with TSC the utmost confidence they are doing business with the best,” TSC Board Chair Adela G. Garza said. “It is not easy to earn such a high distinction on the national level, but our team stepped up to meet many of the criteria as outlined by the National Procurement Institute.”��

“This honor bestowed upon our Purchasing and Contract Services department exemplifies 51����’s commitment to excellence in every sector including the purchasing of equipment and fulfilling contracts,” TSC President Jesús Roberto Rodríguez said. “This award is eligible to all public institutions from school boards to municipalities and higher education institutions. This honor affirms commitment to a higher standard of transparency in purchasing.”�� ��

The AEP Award is earned by public and non-profit agencies that prove a commitment to procurement excellence. This annual program recognizes procurement organizations that embrace Innovation, Professionalism, Productivity, Leadership, and e-Procurement.��

Dr. Gisela Figueroa Vice President for Finance and Administration was proud of the work paying off.����

“I am very proud of the team and all the work they’ve done,” Dr. Figueroa said. “It’s been amazing to see. It’s not that they weren’t doing a lot of these things before but now they are consciously making decisions and adding those things as extra to our vendors. Whether it’s publishing and posting to the website, putting more information our or extra training.” ��

The AEP program encourages the development of excellence as well as continued organizational improvement to earn the award annually. For 2022, there were 171 successful applicants including 73 cities, 36 counties, 15 special districts, 17 school districts, 14 higher education agencies, 5 state or provincial agencies and 11 others.��

For Director of Purchasing, Patricia Salvidar, and her team, this is an award that is more than two years in the making.��

“The work started during the onset of the Pandemic, when we were working virtually,” Saldivar, MBA said. “It was a project we undertook in an effort to assess existing parameters and elevate our operations overall in order to better serve the college community. The application encourages departments to take a deep look at its operations and transparency.”
��
The Purchasing and Contract Services staff are the team that makes sure students, faculty and staff are well-equipped to learn and work. Saldivar explained some of the day-to-day tasks that keep her team busy.��

“We ensure that all purchasing and contract management activities comply with TSC Board policies and procedures as well as with the Texas Education Code and other applicable laws.�� The purchasing activities include the distribution of purchase orders, issuance of requests for proposals, management of contracts, travel, and credit card program,” Saldivar said. “While we were working remotely, we were submitting applications to both the National Procurement Institute (NPI) Inc. and the Texas Association of School Business Officials.”��

Saldivar mentioned the continuous support from TSC’s Board of Trustees and upper administration.����

“This effort would have not been possible without the ongoing support of the TSC Board of Trustees who along with the college administration share the commitment to always strive for excellence and transparency to the community.”��

She also credited her entire team for working hard to meet the criteria outlined by the NPI.����

“This was definitely a team effort,” Saldivar said. “The work was pieced together according to each member’s strengths.���� When it comes to contracts, we have someone who takes the lead to ensure that we get the proper training and certification.”��

The Purchasing and Contract Services staff consists of:����

Patricia Saldivar – Director of Purchasing��

Martha Casanova – Coordinator of Records and Contract Management����

Nilda Mora – Purchasing Specialist��

Raul Garza – Purchasing Specialist��

Josue Muniz – Senior Accounting Clerk����

Vendors and contractors will have an opportunity to learn how to do business with 51���� on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022 from 2-3:30 p.m. in-person (Set-B Lecture Hall) or via zoom ().����

You can reach director Patricia Salvidar at 956.295.3426, e-mail purchasing@tsc.edu or visit the webpage at Purchasing And Contract Services – TSC��