Kathie Bracy's letter to Judge Reece

"We never received bonuses; we never sued anybody; and we just want to enjoy our remaining years with at least minimal comfort and necessary health care."

Dear Judge Reece,

I am an STRS retiree; I wish to implore you not to award one cent to the staff members who are suing STRS for bonuses (which were never in their contracts, and which many feel entitled to receive just for doing their job).

Please remember that some of the bonuses are nearly three times what some retirees' pensions are for an ENTIRE YEAR. Think about that for a minute. By the time these retirees pay for their medical expenses (thanks to the exorbitant increases in their health care costs) and their basic living expenses, many of them are having to go without, or choose among necessities such as food, medicine and orthopedic shoes. Some have been forced to sell their homes.

Are there any retirees in your family? Have any of them been faced with similar choices? Does it make you feel good to see this happen to people who have worked hard all their lives, only to commit the "sin" of growing older and having health problems that need to be dealt with on meager pensions at today's spiraling, out-of-control health care costs?

Remember -- every penny you award to those who are already making a comfortable salary, more than most of us ever earned, is money taken out of the pockets of retirees. Some will not eat as well; some will split pills, or quit taking them altogether; some will sell their homes. If it sounds like I'm pleading poverty on their behalf, a little homework on your part will show otherwise.

Judge Reece, I would sincerely like to see you become an advocate for retirees. If you have any compassion, if you have a conscience, if you want to do the right thing, you will reconsider your decision to award the noninvestment employees of STRS over $3 million in bonuses; you will award them nothing for their greed and entitlement attitude. And you will henceforth receive the gratitude of a poorly treated group in this state: the thousands of retired teachers who helped you and thousands like you get where you are today, on their meager salaries (and now pensions) and NO bonuses EVER, other than the quiet satisfaction of seeing their former students -- those such as you -- succeed.

I congratulate you on the high degree of success you have attained; I hope you will remember all those who helped you to get there -- including your former teachers. We never received bonuses; we never sued anybody; and we just want to enjoy our remaining years with at least minimal comfort and necessary health care. You can make a difference. I hope you will. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Katherine B. Bracy

11/10/05