Monday, November 14, 2005

Tom Curtis' letter to Judge Reece

November 14, 2005

Hello Judge Reece,

This may not be appropriate to ask of you, but would you kindly tell me what would be involved in requesting a legal interpretation of the ORC 3307.15 as it reads below?

It seems that the STRS fiduciaries and the STRS membership have a very different interpretation and understanding of this section of the ORC.

As a retiree who has had health care benefits promised at retirement revoked, I do not understand how the STRS fiduciaries are permitted to arbitrarily provide bonuses to non-investment staff at the STRS. These bonuses were not contractual to my understanding and were not based upon written goals, but subjective ones and were for little more then doing their jobs. Please explain how this can be permitted?

ยง 3307.15. Investment and fiduciary duties of board.


(A) The members of the state teachers retirement board shall be the trustees of the funds created by section 3307.14 of the Revised Code. The board shall have full power to invest the funds. The board and other fiduciaries shall discharge their duties with respect to the funds solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries; for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the system; with care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with these matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims; and by diversifying the investments of the system so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so.


I await your response to my two questions above at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Thomas Curtis
STRS Life Member
ORTA Life Member
Stark Co. RTA Life Member
CORE Life Member
AARP Life Member
Larry KehresMount Union Collge
Division III
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