History

History of AEPA and IMESD’s Role

The Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies (AEPA) was established in 2000 by a small group of 10 state-based educational service agencies with a shared vision: to combine their purchasing power to create competitively bid, high-quality contracts that would deliver greater value and efficiency to public education. By working cooperatively across state lines, these founding members sought to streamline procurement, reduce duplication of effort, and ensure compliance with each state’s legal requirements while securing the best possible pricing and solutions for schools.

From the beginning, the InterMountain Education Service District (IMESD) played a key leadership role as one of AEPA’s founding administrative agencies. Representing Oregon, IMESD helped shape the organization’s structure, guiding principles, and commitment to a transparent, multi-state competitive bidding process. IMESD’s involvement ensured that Oregon’s procurement standards and the needs of its school districts were embedded in AEPA’s foundation.

Over the past two decades, AEPA has steadily expanded its reach and impact. What began as a 10-state collaboration has grown into a national cooperative of 31 member states, collectively serving millions of students and public entities. Through this growth, AEPA has remained focused on its core mission: delivering compliant, competitively solicited contracts that provide measurable value, save time and resources, and support public agencies of all sizes.

Today, IMESD continues to serve as the AEPA Contract Administrator for Oregon, overseeing contract implementation, ensuring compliance with Oregon law, and supporting school districts and public agencies statewide. Beyond procurement, IMESD’s role reflects AEPA’s deeper purpose—leveraging cooperative purchasing not only to improve efficiency, but also to reinvest in education, with program proceeds directly supporting K–12 students across Northeast Oregon.

Together, AEPA and IMESD have built a model of cooperative purchasing that combines national buying power with local impact, delivering lasting benefits to Oregon schools and communities.