School District Gives Boost to 'Buy Local' Effort

The City of Santa Monica recently initiated a Buy Local Hire Local program in an effort to encourage local businesses to hire within their community. This program was designed to stimulate taxpayers to give back to their community, which as an end result promotes strength and growth in the community of Santa Monica.

The District strives to support both the community and the hiring of qualified local contractors, suppliers, vendors and individuals providing professional services. The Board of Education deems it important that local, small, women, and minority-owned businesses compete for these available opportunities. Therefore, the school board has established a 15% business outreach participation goal. As of July 2011, the Measure BB program is exceeding these standards by 2%.

In support of the City of Santa Monica's Buy Local Hire Local program, the Facility Improvement Projects (FIP) office hosted a networking event in collaboration with and the City of Santa Monica on Wednesday at to discuss various bidding opportunities, including the District’s $356 million dollar facility improvements projects program, Measure BB and the Civic Center Joint Use Project (CCJUP).

The goal of the event was to attract qualified individuals and businesses, increase awareness and participation in the Hire Local Buy Local program and to provide networking opportunities for school and public procurement. The District's multi-million dollar program requires a large combination of qualified contractors and professionals.