Tom Curtis' speech to STRS Board 10/20/05

The following 3 minute presentation was written to be delivered to the STRS board on September 15th. It appeared on various email chains on the 14th & 15th. Due to time contraints I passed until this month.

Tom Curtis

10/20/05

Good afternoon board members, executive staff and guests. My name is Thomas Curtis. I am speaking today on my own behalf. I am an STRS disability retiree with 27 years of service. I am a life member of CORE, ORTA, Stark Co. RTA and the AARP.

Today is a day that others and I have envisioned for two years! Dr. Dennis Leone and John Lazares are now both members of the STRS board, along with others, that few would have envisioned a little over two years ago. This is truly a historic day for our STRS. This day marks the beginning of what I hope will be the beginning of a cohesive board, dedicated to the reform of the STRS, which in my opinion is long past due.

The reform I speak of concerns the "corporate culture" that overwhelmingly clouded the view of our fiduciaries for over a decade now. Those fiduciaries clearly lost touch with their membership while lavishing themselves with large salaries and benefits far better then most corporations. The STRS is not a Corporation and should not be considered as such. Many of the extraordinary benefits have been eliminated over the past two years, but this reform process is far from complete. I am confident that this board and others that will follow on this board, will never again loose sight of who they are here to represent, as stated in the Ohio Revised Code, section 3307.15. This section, as Dennis Leone desires, should be printed in large print and posted in every department of this building, visible to all that are employed here.

The STRS management and Board did not publicize a 2002 compensation study completed by Buck Consultants for the STRS. I will assume this was due to the nature of many of the findings in that report. Various CORE members just recently received a copy of those findings. The report indicates the employees of the STRS are compensated as well, or better, then outside profit or not-for-profit organizations of equal status. The report indicates bonuses were given to some investment and non-investment staff for little more then doing their job. That is unacceptable! These are just two issues the STRS executive staff has attempted to minimize to the membership for the past two years. The STRS employees need to realize that they work for us, the membership and not a corporation. We have supplied the dedicated flow of income staff derive their livelihood from. The staff should not abuse our faith and trust, as some have done in the past. We simply want value for every dollar spent in the operation of this retirement system. That certainly is not out of line to ask.

I will end with a quote from the September "Science of Mind" - Daily Guides for Richer Living. "False ideas heaped upon false ideas make bad matters worse. The whole confusion of the world arises from fundamental error of thought."

Thank you for permitting me to address the board today. I look forward to communicating with each of you as you serve your term on the STRS board.

Thomas Curtis - A Proud Malcontent