Re: How does your team make purchases?
 

Not all schools have this requirement. That is why they need to check with the school. My school has no problem with this and we are even in the same state.

Re: How does your team make purchases?
 

All our purchases (large and small) go through the personal credit card of a single mentor who is then reimbursed from the team's account with the school. While there is certainly the possibility of abuse with a system like this, there is a huge advantage to being able to buy any part right when it is needed.

Re: How does your team make purchases?
 

Adafruit excepts tax exemptions for non-profits such as schools and school districts.
http://www.adafruit.com/faq

Re: How does your team make purchases?
 

We have a team account for everything throughout the year and out head coach makes all of our purchases. A lot of things tend to get pretty expensive during build season, so if you start ordering basic things now and are ready to wait you'll spend a lot less. During build season you end up shipping things a lot faster. During build season it's hard enough to keep track of much, so your spending will always get pretty high. Just try to start build season with a big budget before you start building your $5000 pile of metal shavings on the floor