What is the ESCNJ Co-op?

Our goal is to save taxpayers money by seeking out great prices for our members

The Educational Services Commission of New Jersey operates six schools for students ages 3-21 with autism, multiple disabilities, and at-risk behaviors, including two with onsite clinical support services. To help limit the financial stress of sending students from their respective town school districts across New Jersey to our schools in Middlesex County we created our own Cooperative Purchasing System to differentiate the cost.

The Educational Services Commission of New Jersey Cooperative System (ESCNJ) has existed since 1977, and has grown to become the largest cooperative pricing system in New Jersey! With over 1,750 members, participants include school districts, colleges, universities, municipalities, county governments, housing authorities, libraries, fire districts and more. 

• There is no membership fee for a government entity to join
• Each member becomes a lifetime member

We develop bid specifications according to the requests our members pass on to us, thus saving our members time and money by providing this service for them; time and money they would have to spend in developing bid specifications, advertising, and research. In addition, we advertise in several newspapers throughout New Jersey and on our website to attract as many responsible bidders as possible.
ESCNJ is also a member of the Association of Educational Purchasing Agencies. The AEPA is a national purchasing association that includes 29 states, bringing additional buying power to our co-op members. Only one entity per state may be a member of the AEPA, and the ESCNJ is that entity.

     Matthew Scanlon, Assistant Superintendent for Operations and Security