Thursday, June 29, 6000
Tuesday, February 15, 4000
STRS Ohio Watchdogs: a public Facebook group you can join
Sunday, August 27, 3950
Have you joined the Ohio STRS Member Only Forum on Facebook?
Click image to enlarge
Monday, June 25, 3900
Monday, June 24, 3850
Wednesday, May 28, 3800
Friday, February 27, 3750
Sunday, April 11, 3700
Thursday, March 10, 3650
Friday, February 24, 3550
Monday, April 29, 3450
I know, it's weird.........
Monday, February 24, 3400
This is an abbreviated version of the original 'Handy links' post. Click here to view a more complete list. (Some of it is old.)
State legislators.......State of Ohio website
Tuesday, February 24, 3350
Dennis Leone's STRS Report to ORTA, March 2007
Tuesday, February 23, 3300
Thursday, July 24, 2025
Bill Boone: STRS Board was a victim of a hostile takeover. Teachers like me are at risk.
From ORTA
July 24, 2025STRS Board was a victim of a hostile takeover. Teachers like me are at risk.
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Trina Kay Prufer: A Public Retirement System Cannot Work for Members if it is Designed to Fail
By Trina Kay Prufer
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Whistle-blower suicides at STRS? Who knows for sure, but they're on our radar again.
Original post date: July 15, 2005
Link to two articles in one post: https://kathiebracy.blogspot.com/2012/07/woman-falls-to-her-death-at-strs.html
Comments made from one STRS member to another, 07/15/2025:
"Oh, did you read the article? This took place at the STRS building on Broad Street in Columbus [in 2012]. This woman is said to have been blowing a whistle on happenings at STRS. This woman's family was paid a settlement by STRS to not talk about anything. Truth. That is not hearsay.
"She is not the only whistle-blower employee to have a questionable death at STRS on Broad Street. There is another associated with the parking garage. Yup. I cannot make this stuff up." (No source cited.)
Trina Kay Prufer: Does STRS have a Humanitarian Purpose?
Froom Trina Prufer
July 15, 2025
The truth is… STRS is a detriment to its members and a cautionary tale to all other public workers and pension systems in the nation. The State of Ohio needs to face this reality and rectify the injustice. Disseminating disinformation to the media, filing phony lawsuits and changing the composition of the board only intensifies the problem. A public pension system is only as strong as the laws protecting its members. Otherwise, it just turns into a scam.
Wednesday, July 09, 2025
David Pepper: "They built the pension through their hard work and their money, and they live off the pension and how well it does for the rest of their lives, so having them have a majority stake in that board makes sense."
Radical overhaul of the STRS Ohio Retirement Board
From ORTA
July 9, 2025
Despite a weekend-long email and telephone campaign from Ohio teachers and retirees, Gov. Mike DeWine let stand an overhaul of the State Teachers Retirement System Board.
"They built the pension through their hard work and their money, and they live off the pension and how well it does for the rest of their lives, so having them have a majority stake in that board makes sense." - David Pepper
View video here.
Toledo Blade: Group looking to block STRS changes
From ORTA
Budget alters pension board
Blade Columbus Bureau Chief
Timeline: Changes coming to STRS board
STRS Board Timeline
Thursday, July 03, 2025
Trina Prufer: What bothers me most is the way in which the state government, with the stroke of a pen, took over control of our retirement savings. It was done in the dead of night, in secret and was carried out to circumvent the legislative process.
A Bad Dream
By Trina Prufer
July 2, 2025
We don’t yet know the extent of the possible financial damage to us as individuals, but we must find out. We may not be able to do anything about it, yet, but we can expose STRS for what it is… an organization that makes a mockery of democracy and the public pension system.
It is 5:00 in the morning and I have been awake for about a hour, still unable to shake off the unease from an anxiety dream about being lost. I realize that it’s just a dream, but the fear is still real. I am 75 years old, and have been hit with the fact that I have been scammed by the very government I believed would fulfill its promise of financial security and peace of mind in old age.
I really hate saying this…however STRS, in cahoots with bad state actors, is run like a criminal organization. How else to explain how our collective retirement savings could have been taken over by a group of politicians? We have no guarantees as to what our future benefits will look like, and there are no checks and balances on the malfeasance. The laws of the State of Ohio do not apply to us. If fact, the law has been distorted, twisted into a pretzel and used against us.
What bothers me most is the way in which the state government, with the stroke of a pen, took over control of our retirement savings. It was done in the dead of night, in secret and was carried out to circumvent the legislative process. It will only intensify the financial injustice of not receiving the benefit we worked for over the course of our working lives. I don’t believe anything this DUPLICITOUS has ever happened to a group of public teachers before.
We don’t yet know the extent of the possible financial damage to us as individuals, but we must find out. We may not be able to do anything about it, yet, but we can expose STRS for what it is… an organization that makes a mockery of democracy and the public pension system.
Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Despite campaign from teachers, DeWine leaves pension changes in budget
From ORTA
Jul 1, 2025
Colleen Marshall reports on the overhaul of STRS Ohio Board.
Despite a weekend-long email and telephone campaign from Ohio teachers and retirees, Gov. Mike DeWine let stand an overhaul of the State Teachers Retirement System Board.
Watch Colleen Marshall's report online at https://www.nbc4i.com/video/despite-campaign-from-teachers-dewine-leaves-pension-changes-in-budget/10854954
DeWine signs flat income tax into law
COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine late Monday signed off on $600 million in funding to help the owners of the Cleveland Browns build a new domed stadium in neighboring Brook Park, one of the biggest ticket items in the state budget passed by fellow Republicans.
He also put his signature to what has become the centerpiece of the budget — a $1 billion-plus tax cut for those earning over $100,000 a year as Ohio becomes the 15th state with a flat income tax.
But before signing House Bill 96 into law, the governor used his line-item veto authority 67 times. Mr. DeWine plans a news conference later Tuesday to further discuss his decisions.
He struck a plan to force school districts to lower property tax bills if their budgetary reserves are equal to more than 40 percent of their operating budgets. He also restored the 90-year-old sales tax exemptions for newspapers and printing operations that the budget would have eliminated.
He also struck a provision forcing public libraries to segregate materials dealing with sexual orientation and gender so that they can’t be accessed by minors. This would have occurred at the same time that the budget is eliminating their guaranteed slice of state revenues, something the governor could not reverse.
“This budget builds upon my commitment to make Ohio the best place for everyone to live their version of the American Dream,” Mr. DeWine said. “It prioritizes our children, empowers our work force, and strengthens our communities. We are investing in the people of Ohio, not just today, but for generations to come.”
The idea of using public funds to help the Haslam Sports Group build the $2.4 billion facility, even as Cleveland has sued to try to keep the stadium in the city, has proven controversial from the start.
Democrats and Republicans alike had called for the governor to wield his line-item veto authority to remove the language, but the governor let it stand, his office confirmed.
When House Bill 96 left the General Assembly last week, the plan totaled just over $200 billion over the biennium, counting both state and federal dollars.
Despite his arguments that Ohio’s income tax was already competitive and the state needed to invest in its future, Mr. DeWine kept the provision that has Ohio joining neighbors Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky as flat tax states.
Ohio’s ultimate flat rate of 2.75 percent by next year would be the lowest among all of them.
The elimination of the top income bracket would lead to a tax cut for those earning more than $100,000, as that rate drops from 3.5 percent to 3.125 percent this year and 2.75 percent next year.
Those earning between $26,050 and $100,000 will not see a tax cut, while those earning less would still owe no tax.
While the governor was able to strike provisions, he couldn’t add language or substitute numbers.
Not a single Democrat supported the budget.
“Republicans just made Vivek Ramaswamy even richer,” Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Kathleen Clyde said. “Instead of supporting Ohio families, the Republican legislature passed a budget that only helps their billionaire friends and special interests.
“Ohioans deserve better, and Republicans will have to answer for this disastrous budget in the next election cycle,” she said.
A handful of Republicans joined them in opposition, in some cases because of their opposition to the stadium funding.
The idea of using public funds for the project was never the problem among the big three at the budget negotiation table. Mr. DeWine, the House, and the Senate all supported the concept. It was just a matter of how to go about it.
The governor wanted to raise the tax on sports betting operators to fuel a fund that would benefit this and similar sports stadium and arena projects as well as youth recreation. He argued that the state shouldn’t keep using taxpayer-backed borrowing to pay for such projects.
The House, in turn, nixed that idea and promptly proposed to do exactly that with a 30-year bond package.
Ultimately, the budget conference committee went with the Senate’s idea of taking $1.7 billion out of $4.8 billion in forgotten bank accounts, rent security and utility deposits, uncashed checks, and other unclaimed funds placed with the state for safekeeping until the owners come calling.
Of the $1.7 billion, the plan immediately funds the Browns stadium and sets aside $400 million more for others expected to come calling, such as the Cincinnati Bengals for renovations of their existing riverfront stadium.
Also surviving is language changing the so-called “Modell Law,” created after Art Modell moved the Browns franchise to Baltimore 25 years ago, leaving behind just the team’s name.
The law now states that past taxpayer investment could be clawed back when a team move occurs only when it’s an out-of-state move. That undercuts a Cleveland lawsuit trying to block the move.
Among provisions vetoed were:
● An expansion of school vouchers through creation of Education Savings Accounts to pay for tuition and other school expenses at private schools.
● A prohibition on H2Ohio funds being used to acquire land and easements, something Mr. DeWine noted is needed for water quality projects like wetland development.
● An elimination of replacement levies and certain other types of property tax levies.
● A prohibition on using local government power of eminent domain to obtain property for recreational trails.
● A repeal of current efforts to keep children under the age of 4 continuously enrolled in Medicaid.
● A requirement that local school board members appear on the ballot with partisan labels attached.
This article may be read here.
Monday, June 30, 2025
To Governor DeWine...more than a drop in the bucket
To Governor DeWine...more than a drop in the bucket
Sunday, June 29, 2025
More insights from Trina: The Example STRS Sets for Every Public Pension System in the Nation
From Trina Prufer
- In Ohio, teachers have no guarantees whatsoever that the retirement plan will be followed. The benefit is not protected by the state constitution, the retirement contract, the law or as a property right. In effect, the type of retirement system STRS operates under is called a “gratuity” pension, which means a gift.
- The very definition of a defined-benefit has been turned upside down. A public pension defined-benefit is commonly understood to NOT have any financial risk for the member. Paradoxically, an STRS “defined-benefit” is only “defined” by its contribution rate. The payout phase is ALL risk, with the payment of a COLA dependent on something called the “ integrity“ of the system, which does not have a definition.
- There is little to no oversight by the State that STRS operates for the benefit of members. Although that responsibility has been assigned to the Ohio Retirement Study Council, audits do not happen on time, half of its scheduled meetings are canceled and obvious transgressions, such as a million dollars wasted on fine art are rationalized as being acceptable.
- The contribution rate for active teachers is 14%, which is higher than the normal cost of the benefit, which is 11%. The contribution rate for the employer is 14%. The financial model is inadequate to pay obligations and the system pays out more than it takes in. The financial model is designed to fail.
- All statutes governing STRS can be changed by the stroke of a pen, dependent on the whims of the state legislature and the political party in the majority.
Saturday, June 28, 2025
David Pepper: UPDATE: The Overnight Coup by Politicians Over Teachers/Retirees, and $90B!
A Brutal/Sneak Attack on Democracy and Retirees
Jun 27, 2025