Cathy Moody, Director of Purchasing and Procurement, and longtime asset to the Prescott Unified School District
By Tara Fort • Photo by Trisha Shaffer
For Cathy Moody, ensuring the seamless procurement of necessary items requested by educators to enhance their roles for supporting the students is a vital component to the district’s operations. Cathy, Director of Purchasing and Procurement at the Prescott Unified School District (PUSD) since 2021, explained, “Anything purchased for PUSD, including trade services for plumbing and HVAC, comes through purchasing department. The most fulfilling aspect of my position is making sure that our staff and students have the necessary goods and services to succeed.”
Working with vendors like Amazon, Walmart, security and fire systems, and printing companies, just to name a few, Cathy recognizes the importance of maintaining those positive vendor relationships and connections. “The most challenging part of my role is ensuring that we are purchasing responsibly and getting the most out of our money while ensuring staff and students have precisely what they need. We have so many needs in the district, so keeping vendor communication lines open can make a big difference in the cost savings of an item. Since taking on this role, I have helped the district save close to a million dollars by negotiating with vendors or finding better deals.”
Cathy’s dedication to the district spans 16 years, starting from her work as a paraprofessional at Taylor Hicks Elementary in 2007. In that role, she worked one-on-one with special needs students. She recalled, “It was a very rewarding experience being a part of their day and celebrating their successes.”
In 2016 she took the role of Administration Assistant to the CFO for the district office and later became Purchasing Director in 2021. Adhering to strict guidelines for procurement including ensuring compliance with Arzona procedure rules and codes, ensuring that all aspects of bidding and purchasing procedures conform to federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, soliciting processes to secure quotes, maintaining a database of names and products, and understanding the procurement thresholds are just a few of Cathy’s weighty responsibilities.
PUSD Superintendent Clark Tenney said, “Cathy is bright, dedicated, consistently pleasant, and incredibly good at what she does. We are so blessed to have her supporting our kids in her important role with PUSD.”
When not crunching numbers and maintaining valuable relationships to save the district money, Cathy expands her talents at her family’s church, where she serves as a board member and director of the finance committee. Cathy and her husband—Director of the Service Center for PUSD—have six children and nine grandchildren and enjoy spending time and creating new memories with them.
For more information about Cathy Moody and the Prescott Unified School District, visit www.prescottschools.com.