The Educational Purchasing Interlocal Cooperative at ESC Region 6 (EPIC6) is located at 3332 Montgomery Road, Huntsville, Walker County, Texas. EPIC6 is operated and managed by:
The purpose of the EPIC6 Purchasing Coop is to facilitate the procurement process between the "Members" (public school districts, private schools, charter schools, colleges, and universities, cities, and municipalities, counties, state agencies), and the “Vendors” through pre-negotiated contracts enabling the Member to receive better value.
School districts are authorized to use purchasing cooperatives by the Texas Education Code, and as a local government entity by the Texas Local Government Code. The Texas Education Code, Section 44.031, authorizes districts to enter into inter-local agreements with other government entities, including purchasing cooperatives that are managed by a government entity, for aggregate purchases of $50,000 or more, instead of using competitive bidding.
How to Become an EPIC6 Member
An inter-local agreement is a contract between a local government such as a school district, another local government, or a state agency, that can be used to procure goods or services. The Texas Local Government Code, Section 271.102, authorizes a local government, including a school district, to participate in a cooperative purchasing program with a local government or cooperative organization of Texas or another state. By doing so, a local government entity automatically satisfies any requirement to seek competitive bidding.
There is no cost for membership and open to all K-12 School Districts, Colleges and Universities, Cities and Municipalities, Counties, State Agencies, Private Schools, and Charter Schools in the State of Texas.
Download the Interlocal Agreement, have your Board, Governing Body, or Authorized Authority approve it and submit the signed Interlocal Agreement to EPIC6 at epic6@esc6.net.
If your organization requires a Board Resolution for the approval of the Interlocal Agreement, download here. Please send Board Resolution with Interlocal Agreement to epic6@esc6.net.
How to Purchase
- To begin your purchasing process, please view the Contracts tab located here and then select the Contract Category you are interested in.
- Contact the vendor you wish to do business with and request a quote using the EPIC6 contract.
- Issue a Purchase Order to the EPIC6 awarded vendor. Include the EPIC6 Pricing Notation and/or the EPIC6 contract number on the Purchase Order.
- Submit Purchase Order to vendor.
- Send a copy of the purchase order or/and an EPIC6 Monthly Report, which reports all purchase orders that utilize EPIC6 contracts to epic6orders@esc6.net by the 10th of the following month.
EDGAR Compliance
The EPIC6 has followed the most restrictive method of procurement required under EDGAR. All of our contracts are awarded using the most restrictive methods required under regulations, the Request for Proposal.
However, when the member makes a specific purchase of $150,000 or greater and EDGAR compliant funds are used, it is up to the individual district to perform their cost analysis prior to the purchase and confirming the actual price paid analysis after the purchase to confirm it was essentially consistent with the original cost analysis and not significantly more. The cost/price analysis is based on the specific individual purchase by that entity and cannot be done by the cooperative on the multiple award and discount off catalog or fixed price contracts that make up cooperative contracts because those contracts are awarded with a broad range of possible quantities purchased by members. Prices members pay under the contracts may be lower than the actual contract maximum price or minimum discount offered depending on the quantities purchased or other specifics to the individual purchase. The member should never pay more than the contracted price.
As an option to the member, for additional competition, the member may, but not required to solicit quotes from multiple awarded vendors when there are several that sell the same or similar products.
Please consult with your legal counsel if any questions regarding the cooperatives positions or its compliance with 2 CFR part 200, more commonly known as EDGAR. EPIC6 cannot provide legal guidance to a purchasing entity.
How to Become an EPIC6 Vendor
Vendors interested in doing business with EPIC6 and its member buyers are encouraged to register with the ESC6 eMarketplace e-bidding and supplier management system. This electronic procurement system allows EPIC6 and its members to maintain accurate information about ESC6 eMarketplace registered vendors and the goods and services they offer. It electronically notifies those registered vendors of applicable bid opportunities. In addition, it allows registered vendors to electronically submit bids to EPIC6.
To participate in the ESC6 eMarketplace system, please register online at: esc6emkt.ionwave.net
Click on "Supplier Registration" and follow the prompts to complete the registration process.
All bid notifications will be sent to the e-mail address on file so it is imperative that the vendor information be kept current. You are encouraged to include more than one company “User” when you register. It is the sole responsibility of each vendor to maintain and update their company’s information on the e-bidding site.
NOTE: By registering with ESC6 eMarketplace vendors are added to the EPIC6 Bidder's List and will receive automated e-mail notifications regarding bid opportunities associated with commodities selected by the vendor within the system. A vendor that has registered with ESC6 eMarketplace IS NOT considered an "authorized vendor" or "awarded vendor". A vendor must submit a bid and be awarded a contract before becoming a EPIC6 vendor.