Step 4.
Hearings
The agency will notify each protesting party's agent of the date and time of the hearing after it receives the protest. In past years, staff rescheduled pre-set hearing dates to accommodate district preferences. This effort to accommodate has caused serious difficulty in controlling the flow of protests. Consequently, staff will not reschedule a hearing. Consolidation of hearing dates for the convenience of an agent or attorney is not good cause for rescheduling. If an event occurs that is not within the party's control, such as a medical emergency, an extension may be granted.
After reviewing your protest, staff mails a Conference and Hearing Form along with the written recommendation on your protest. You may request that the hearing be conducted by written submission by selecting that option on the form. The hearing examiner will give your written submission the same weight as if you had presented the evidence personally.
Staff will notify you before the hearing day to set up an informal resolution conference. These conferences may be conducted entirely in writing or via telephone conference call. Please contact PTD's Reporting Section to discuss the conference call option.
Hearings are conducted by hearing examiners who have been specifically chosen to hear all protests. During a hearing, the protesting party may present oral argument to support its challenge. However, the protesting party may not raise an issue or request a remedy that was not specified in the petition and may not present oral or written evidence that was not submitted with the petition. Admissions, proposals, or offers made in the compromise of disputed issues in a preliminary conference may not be admitted in a hearing.
The hearing examiner's decision is based on the evidence and arguments of the protesting party and the Comptroller's staff. The examiner must issue a written decision. This decision is mailed to each protesting party by certified mail.
Guidelines to Presenting a Protest
If you appear at a protest hearing, you should present your protest by following these guidelines:Restrict your comments
You may not introduce evidence you did not already submit by March 13, and you may not protest new categories, issues, or remedies at the hearing. Oral evidence, presented by an agent or attorney, must reflect evidence timely filed with the petition.Be organized
Unless directed otherwise by the hearing examiner, support your request by:- presenting your protest in category order,
- stating the preliminary ratio and value assigned the contested category,
- stating the value you are requesting for each school district and
- summarizing the evidence you have provided.Be brief
This will allow time for the hearing examiner to ask questions. You will be expected to observe the time limit, if any, established for the hearing, regardless of the number of categories you are protesting.Stick to the point
Bringing up irrelevant issues, such as state education aid allocations, will reduce the amount of time you have to discuss your evidence. While the hearing examiner may be sympathetic, he or she will only consider adjusting preliminary ratios and values based on relevant evidence.