Schools in Mohave County established a career education program in 1971 called the Mohave County Career Education Project. In the early 1980s, the name was changed to Mohave Educational Services Cooperative.

At this same time, Mohave introduced local schools to a consortium of educational software. Mohave County districts were saving money on software through the cooperative, and other counties soon inquired if they too could be provided services. This activity was approved provided that the schools outside the county pay an administration fee that covered costs for providing services based on A.R.S. §15-365.

To fill the need for statewide bids Mohave began contracting for school-related equipment and services using the sealed proposal bidding process to secure needed contracts for its members. By meeting the same requirements placed upon Mohave’s members, the members can use our contracts with confidence. Mohave’s purchasing policies and procedures come from the Arizona State Board of Education School District Procurement Rules, the Arizona Procurement Code and other sections of the Arizona Revised Statues.

In 1988, a cooperative purchase agreement was created to be signed by a member and Mohave as an intergovernmental agreement. While public school districts comprise the largest single segment of our membership, cities, counties, community colleges, and non-profit organizations also use Mohave contracts through cooperative purchase agreements. As a statewide public procurement unit, administrative fees paid by users fund Mohave. No direct tax dollars come to us.

Arizona School Partners in Nutrition (ASPIN) was added in 1995 in response to a need for food service products. Currently over 100 school districts are members of ASPIN. This volume equates to substantial savings on food and supplies for school food service operations.

In 2005, Mohave became a nonprofit corporation providing public procurement services pursuant to A.R.S. § 11-952 and A.R.S. § 41-2632. The cooperative is governed under Title 10 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

Mohave Educational Services Cooperative, Inc., has come to be known as one of the most service oriented purchasing cooperatives in Arizona. By acting as a conduit, its procurement contracts create a partnership that benefits both the member and the vendor.