Protest Policy

HENRY COUNTY SCHOOLS PROCUREMENT PROTEST PROCESS

Any Offeror not selected, or otherwise adversely affected by the decision making process under a competitive procurement, may file written protest. An adversely affected Offeror must file such written protest and exhaust all administrative remedies afforded herein before seeking judicial review of any award of a contract resulting from a competitive procurement. In each instance of protest, the Offeror must demonstrate that it would be eligible to be awarded the contract in the event the protest was successful.

In order to be an adversely affected Offeror with a right to submit a written protest, the Offeror must itself claim to be eligible for award of the contract in the event the Protest were successful and must be next in line for the Award. In addition, the adversely affected Offeror must demonstrate at least one of the following reasons for the Protest:

(a) all higher-ranked Offerors are ineligible for Award of the Contract because their Proposals were nonresponsive;

(b) the School District has failed to conduct the evaluation of proposals in accordance with the criteria or processes described in this RFP;

(c) the School District has abused its discretion in rejecting the Offeror’s proposal as nonresponsive; or

(d) the School District's evaluation of the proposals or its subsequent determination of award is otherwise in violation of Georgia Law.

The written protest shall specify, at minimum:

the name and address of the protestor;

appropriate identification of the solicitation;

any and all grounds upon which the protest is based;

supporting exhibits, evidence or documents to substantiate any grounds; and suggested changes that may remedy the defects.

To be considered, all protests must be in writing and must be submitted to the Superintendent’s Office in an envelope marked as follows: NOIA or NOA Protest. Protests must be timely received by the Superintendent’s Office to be considered. In all cases, the last date for any protest shall be within seven

(7) calendar days after issuance of the Award and such protest must be received by such date (not mailed or in route).

The Superintendent, or the Superintendent’s designee, shall have the authority to settle or resolve a written protest submitted in accordance with the requirements of this Section.

If the protest is not settled or resolved by mutual agreement, the Superintendent shall issue a written decision on the protest in a reasonably timely manner. After the District has issued its response, in the event that the protesting Offeror is still aggrieved, the Offeror expressly agrees that the dispute shall be submitted to the Superior Court of Henry County, to be decided before a Judge without a jury.