(a) For use in its school food service program(s), a board of education may purchase fluid milk directly from a licensed milk processor or processors exempt from the bidding provisions of subdivisions 1 through 8 of section 103 of the General Municipal Law, subject to the maximum allowable expenditure set forth in subdivision 10 of such section. All such purchases shall be subject to the provisions of this section.

For the purpose of this section, licensed milk processorshall mean a processor of milk who is licensed by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets at the time the milk is supplied to the school district and who employs less than 40 people at that time.

(c) It shall be the responsibility of the board of education to ensure that the prices paid for fluid milk purchased pursuant to the exemption do not exceed the highest price paid for milk by no fewer than two adjacent school districts. It shall be the responsibility of the board of education to secure such milk price information from the adjacent school districts each September if the purchase agreement is for the school year, or each September and February if the purchase agreement is for half of the school year. Records of such compliance with this subdivision shall be kept on file for audit for at least three years.

(d) In determining total enrollment for purposes of General Municipal Law, section 103(10), the board of education shall use the number of students registered on the last day of the first attendance period.

The board of education shall give public notice of its intent to purchase milk without competitive bidding for each time period to be contracted, provided that such time period shall not exceed one year. Such notice shall appear in not less than two consecutive issues in the official newspaper designated by the board of education, the last notice to appear not less than 10 days prior to the award of contract(s), to provide all eligible licensed milk processors who desire to sell to a school district pursuant to subdivision (10) of section 103 of the General Municipal Law an equal opportunity to do so.

When more than one eligible processor proposes to sell its milk at the same price, and the total value of milk to be purchased exceeds $1,000, the board of education shall divide its purchase equally among all such processors.