More correspondence with John Brandt (Molly Janczyk and Jim Kimmel)

From John Brandt
October 21, 2005
Subject: Re: Today's news release re. proposed increases in contribution rates to STRS

Ms Janczyk I don't think you and I will ever find common ground on this matter. I'll make a few final points

1. STRS revenue has grown considerably over the years. Contribution rates are a percentage of payroll and payroll usually meets or exceeds inflation. Further, STRS has a very sophisticated investment operation and they generally exceed the average stock market return.

2. GM, airlines and others are reducing beefits that affect both active and retired employees. Today's Columbus Dispatch has a story about Honda benefit reductions. Teachers are not the only ones facing this terrible problem.

3. You are exactly right that people should have known that costs might catch up with revenues. You should be asking STRS why they did not manage their resources better for years. For many years STRS paid all retirees an extra 13th check. On more than one occasion they went to the Legislature and obtained approval for expensive changes in the formula for calculating retirement benefits. You and your colleagues sat back and allowed those things to happen and nobody cared that STRS might need that money down the road. Now you and STRS have to pay the price for that spending.

My correspondence with you has been informative and I truly have sympathy for the difficulties you face. I am not saying "make do", I'm saying that work needs to be done to make STRS benefits work as well as possible for all members. You can't avoid that work by simply asking for someone else to pay the bill.

John M Brandt
OSBA

From Molly
October 21, 2005

I am reactive to your initial comments. However, STRS has made reductions and no amount at this point will cover the untendable and catastrophic increases which occurred in a short period. Your thinking does not allow for inflation and increases over a 20-30 year timeline. It is that simple. Do YOU ask for for more for YOUR benefits and work or simply made do with YOUR consideration assets from 20-30 years ago. Costs increase. When they do, more money is needed. With this line of thinking, NO ONE should EVER get increases but simply make do. Pensions have to be paid and unfunded liability needs reasonable planning. HC suffers and with it, retirees have faced losing homes, assests and refuse medical care. YOU know all this and simply saying make do is not in any way acceptable. GM should make do. Airlines should make do. Welfare recipients should make do. Costs have increased beyond anyone's expectations and you know that as well.

To say STRS has this much money does not break down where that money goes. Perhaps YOU need look at the figures and tell them WHERE the HC should come from. Many were promised HC and pensions and lost both. So, that is the problem, for you, and that is that. NO increases should EVER be made incrementally to cover soaring prices and allow educators respectability and security.

The problem is: We became educators for little and only wanted modest retirements to teach your children. But you and the taxpayers wish to turn your backs on us and simply say make do. Well, retirement has been taken and all who can returned to work and we still cannot make do. Yes, we saved and planned. But educators do not make enough to save enough to EVER pay for HC and few better off can pay for it either.

Simplistic thinking and leaves no room for solutions. Staying with 14% for 20-30 yrs HAD to catch up someday. DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT? There is no other way and you know this as well.

Molly J.

From John Brandt
Oct 21, 2005

Ms Janczyk

I have no intention of insulting you and I don't believe I am. I have not referred to you as "insulting and superficial" or "rigid in your thinking." You might want to think about who is being insulting. You have put your finger on the problem. It appears that STRS misled you into relying on their health care benefits when they had no right to do so. You should be angry at them, not me. All I have said is that STRS should not fix its problems by taking money away from public education. STRS, you and your colleagues should be discussing ways to get the maximum value out of the considerable resources available to the system. STRS,. OEA and others have had a committee working for years on dealing with the health care problem. After all that work, the best they can do is to simply ask for more money rather than buckle down and make some difficult decisions

John M Brandt
OSBA

From Molly
October 20, 2005

Mr. Brandt, I actually have to face my problems. I am, sir and I always have. However, STRS in effect did promise me health care and many other current retirees. We have the literature to prove it. 'HC second to none.. ..........It is not necessary for you to purchase other insurance which would erode your pension.' Consults with counselors who said we'd never have to worry about health care many times. Promissory Estoppel:

1. We were made a promise.

2. It was reasonable to believe it based on decades of literature and rhetoric.

3. I changed behavior as a result. We didn't purchase other HC. Your tone and reasoning is insulting and superficial. I have heard you are rigid in your thinking and just no is no. Your thinking says: I am a fool to have believed my pension system's literature and consults for many years. Therefore it is my problem to deal with.

I have been told by those taxpayers you mention that it is my responsibility, not theirs, to educate their child when I asked for homework as simple as even practice reading and study math facts, never mind finish work, projects, etc. not done in school. WHY do those taxpayers think we work with their children? WHY do they work? Rates and benefits have to be competitive with other state jobs or they will not become educators or stay in the field. WHAT DO YOU think maintains good education? Oh, just the pure joy! Correct? Answer, YES! But we have families and health problems like all others we need to address and we did.

To keep good educators, YOU have to do something to attract them, not just complain or say no to use your logic. 2-3 decades of the same contribution % will not keep educators nor attract them. WOULD YOU like to be an educator in Ohio right now? Ohio is NOT competitive in education funding of any kind and ranks poorly always with attention to educational issues.

Inflation, I am sure you are familiar with that term, increases many times over 2-3 decades and yet no incremental contribution increases to deal with it. Taxpayers want quality education and quality graduates to make Ohio competitive which it is no longer. Without attractive benefits for educators, Ohio continues to lose. You can't just say you want that and do nothing to keep it. Incremental increases preserves a profession long undervalued. Thank you.

Molly J.

From Jim Kimmel
October 21, 2005
Subject: Increase STRS Deductions

Mr. Brandt:

You need to understand that any increase in payroll deductions for the active teachers will help them in the future as well. Otherwise it will be even worse for them than it is now for those of us facing exorbitant health insurance premiums and no 13th check. As a representative of OSBA you are trying to treat us retirees the same as you treat teachers who come to you for a raise -- blame us for it all!.I also think you are more concerned about the amount of money taken from school board coffers than from the paychecks of teachers.

Why are you not complaining about the fact that rehires take STRS health care instead of receiving health insurance from local boards? The same reason you oppose any rate hikes to schools from STRS. That reason is that you do not want to pay your fair share. When I was teaching I did not mind a small increase in STRS withholding for promise of a better retirement later on. Most won't -- unless of course you and the OEA try to play actives and retirees against each other.

Before you complain about any increases why not have schools start paying the health insurance of rehires? And by the way- these same experienced educators, formerly at the top of the pay scale, come back at a much lower pay scale yet bring their expertise and experience with them. What a Deal! And yet you accuse retirees of asking too much.If you insist on the free ride of rehires' health insurance paid by STRS and experienced rehires at bargain basement rates then you can certainly pay a little more to STRS.for the benefit of the retirees who taught many of those now teaching.

One other thing -- I really resent your attempt to somehow implicate retirees in the wasteful spending at STRS. We never asked for any of the perks (we never got any) and expensive actions at STRS.You should apologize to ALL RETIREES for that statement. We are the victims, not the perpetrators. As you know those perpetrators are being prosecuted as I write this.

I think it was Ayn Rand who wrote in a novel that "Some people count, and some people don't." I guess if you believe that I have wasted my time in writing this letter. Have you considered moving to Alaska? You might be more comfortable in a place where they just put the old people out on the ice when they can no longer be profitable.

James O. Kimmel
Proud CORE Member
STRS Retiree