Jim Reed's letter to Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
STRS: WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET?
C.O.R.E. (Concerned Ohio Retired Educators) wants to know what the State Teachers’ Retirement System is doing to correct the mistakes that lead to a $17.1 billion-dollar loss between 2000 and 2002 executed by the very fiduciaries who were entrusted to protect the financial security and healthcare of Ohio’s retired teachers and their families. (Since most active teachers plan on future retirement and prospective educators are being recruited into a reputable profession this question should be quite pertinent to them as well.)
The $17 million-dollar question appears to be who has ownership of the funds in the STRS. Former executive director Herb Dyer left no doubt that during his tenure the funds belonged to the management of the system and not to the retirees. The current administration’s track record doesn’t appear to be too far removed from its predecessor’s philosophy. Witness the position taken by the STRS Board members who recently voted in favor of Judge Guy Reece’s ruling that 268 STRS employees should receive $1.75 million in bonuses from 2003.
Corporate malfeasance is rampant but Reece’s judgment is especially interesting in light of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation administrator’s recent refreshing decision to terminate 69 underachievers after the fiscal fiasco that shredded investments and made “Noe’s coins” a nightmare for fiscal responsibility.
Since local boards of education currently contribute (from taxpayers) 14 percent of teacher salaries to STRS it would seem current and retired educators are not the only citizens of Ohio being scorched.
As a retired, active, or prospective educator, or just as a taxpayer in Fairfield County, if you find it curious, if not outrageous, that healthcare premiums have risen 800 per cent for some STRS retirees while STRS employees enjoy the same rates for their coverage (including free dental and vision) as before the $17 billion-dollar bath, you owe it to your wallet to check out the facts (most supplied by the STRS itself) exposed in May, 2003, by newly elected STRS Board member Dr. Dennis Leone at www.concernedohio.org.
Jim N. Reed
(Address & phone no.)
The $17 million-dollar question appears to be who has ownership of the funds in the STRS. Former executive director Herb Dyer left no doubt that during his tenure the funds belonged to the management of the system and not to the retirees. The current administration’s track record doesn’t appear to be too far removed from its predecessor’s philosophy. Witness the position taken by the STRS Board members who recently voted in favor of Judge Guy Reece’s ruling that 268 STRS employees should receive $1.75 million in bonuses from 2003.
Corporate malfeasance is rampant but Reece’s judgment is especially interesting in light of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation administrator’s recent refreshing decision to terminate 69 underachievers after the fiscal fiasco that shredded investments and made “Noe’s coins” a nightmare for fiscal responsibility.
Since local boards of education currently contribute (from taxpayers) 14 percent of teacher salaries to STRS it would seem current and retired educators are not the only citizens of Ohio being scorched.
As a retired, active, or prospective educator, or just as a taxpayer in Fairfield County, if you find it curious, if not outrageous, that healthcare premiums have risen 800 per cent for some STRS retirees while STRS employees enjoy the same rates for their coverage (including free dental and vision) as before the $17 billion-dollar bath, you owe it to your wallet to check out the facts (most supplied by the STRS itself) exposed in May, 2003, by newly elected STRS Board member Dr. Dennis Leone at www.concernedohio.org.
Jim N. Reed
(Address & phone no.)
posted by Kathie Bracy at 4:46 PM
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