Tom Curtis to Conni Ramser: Get your head out of the sand

From Tom Curtis, January 30, 2006

Subj: Keep On Digging Your Hole

Hello Conni,

You are certainly entitled to your perception of what you need to address while on the board, but that will not get you elected. Ignoring what caused this to happen is unrealistic. Especially when thousands of retirees are suffering financially, because of the wasteful spending practices of the past OEA controlled board and management. Those are the very people that failed to find ways to fund the HCSF. That should have been the board's highest priority.

The failure to have provided such is now forcing actives to remain in the classroom, and go to 35 years whether they want to or not, because they cannot fathom paying the high cost of HC, if they retire. The past OEA controlled board was told to do such by consultants they hired to advise them, along with others that tried to get them to see this need. Essentially, they wasted our money on advice they did not follow; traveled all over the country to seminars and conferences supposedly learning about the operation of public pension systems, but ultimately failed to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to their stakeholders. Only OEA people say we need to forget about the past and think about the future. Please explain to me just how rosy the future looks for retirees right now?

Today, retirees are left holding the empty bag of unfulfilled promises by our fiduciaries and your OEA mentors. They wanted control; they had control, but did not get the job done. Further, we are told there is no way to provide us with what was promised, because there is no money to do such. How are you going to take us into the future, when you have failed to solve, or in your case, even acknowledge reading about the past? What did you do on December 9th, 2005, when Dennis Leone made a motion for the board to look at the possibilities of having the past board and executive director pay for the non-investment bonuses? You vehemently yelled objection many times, interrupted him while he was presenting his motion and would not even show enough respect to listen to his motion. He was offering a possible solution, so the board might not have to vote on paying the bonuses, but you would not hear of it. The reason you gave me for doing such has nothing to do with your true reason does it?

No Conni, the past is not forgotten and you are naive to think such. You have a fiduciary responsibility to bring the STRS out of the hole your OEA compatriots have left us in. Just how are you going to help bring down the 55.5 years of accrued unfunded liability to 30 years? No one has had to absorb the cost of such like the retirees between the ages of 50-64.

The STRS executive staff has not offered, or taken one reduction in pay to help with this situation. Instead, they continue to use our funds to pay consultants to complete more studies of the STRS benefits, so they can justify even higher salaries. The STRS overhead is huge. Bonuses of one type or another still remain available to all associates. If our associates are so darn good, then why are we in this situation? We have paid these people salaries you and I never even dreamed about in education. If they are so highly trained, then why do we have nothing but debt to look in the eye for many years to come? They have taken our money hostage and the OEA and you have failed to realize this. How much more cost are the retirees going to have to absorb in 2007..2008...2009...2010 for their health care?

How can you claim to be so pro teacher and a competent board member, when you readily admit that you have not read Dennis Leone's papers? My question is WHY not? This is shocking to anyone, besides the OEA people you associate with. Dennis spent many months researching the STRS, prior to writing his papers. His only reason for doing such was to attempt to save our retirement system. Had he not done so, your mentors might have cost us part of our pensions as well. That still could be the end result.

By your actions as vice chair, which I have witnessed, it is obvious that you believe Dennis has little to offer the STRS. You treat him as the enemy, when in fact he is the savior of our retirement system. You really do not get it, do you! The audacity and disrespect you have shown Dr. Leone is something I will never understand. Ignoring history causes one to repeat such. No one has forgotten what your mentors have done. Maybe in your mind and the minds of the OEA's leadership they have, but the continued monthly attendance by many retirees, after three continuous years, should tell you otherwise. Do you simply ignore that as well?

When more indictments come out against our past and present board members, it will once again bring the thought of those arrogant people back into the public eye. Hazel Sidaway can't possibly delay her court date, until after the STRS election, can she?

Conni, I feel you are being very untruthful when asked about your knowledge and agreement or disagreement with the issue of Gary Allen slandering Dennis Leone's position paper. To admit that you have not read Dr. Leone's two papers, clearly indicates that you agree with Gary Allen's slanderous remarks. He called for all local presidents, executive staff and OEA leadership to disregard Dr. Leone's findings. I believe you were a local president at that time. Your admission of having not read Dr. Leone's paper indicates your true lack of concern for the membership. What is of even more concern is your continued lack of respect for your colleague and fellow board member. Dr. Leone has far more experience and knowledge of the STRS, and the financial operation of such, then you will ever hope to have; yet you often continue to ignore what he has to offer, because you have been brain-washed by the OEA leadership.

Dr. Leone's position paper, presented to the STRS board on May 16, 2003 is one of the most important and historical documents to ever cross the desk of any executive director of the STRS. His paper caused 109 legislators to call for the removal of the executive director of the STRS. They also called for the State Inspector General, Thomas Charles to investigate the STRS.

To the membership's chagrin, Jim Petro and Betty Montgomery went to and lobbied Governor Taft to not allow such to happen. Consequently, that caused the Governor to line item veto the funds needed to permit the forensic audit the Inspector General was asked to complete by the legislature. In place of a forensic audit, the Governor ordered the ORSC to call for a performance audit. We are still waiting for the results of the performance audit ordered by the ORSC, nearly three years later. This was not even started until there was more then sufficient time for a possible paper trail to be altered, if that were the case. We could have had this whole mess cleared up by the end of 2004, if the Inspector General had been permitted to begin his forensic audit in July 2003. The cost of this will far exceed the cost of the Inspector General, because it drags on and the meter keeps running and our funds keep disappearing for things we do not even get a chance to weigh in on.

How do you propose to bring down the unfunded liability when the STRS management is constantly wasting huge amounts of money on consultants, lawyers and overhead? I guess you believe it just part of doing business in America? Well, that type of doing business is causing the downfall of major corporations today, because the cost of the inefficient management is so huge that the company cannot stay competitive.

All the STRS management has ever had to be concerned with, is simply investing the huge dedicated flow of income they receive every month from the roughly 250,000 educators and the 611 school systems in this state. They do not have to worry about 1/10th of the concerns of industry, or private business, yet they feel they should be paid equally well. Conni, this is called brain-washing. Where has all the money gone? SHOW ME THE MONEY! Tell me why it was not placed in the HCSF, where it was supposed to have been placed, so the benefits the management promised us would be there when we retired. That is what no one will forget and the OEA leadership is as responsible for not seeing this was done, as are the STRS executive staff that we have paid enormous salaries to have done. Please get your head out of the sand and see this whole mess for what it is. If you cannot do such, you have no business being on our board, let alone be the next STRS chairperson.

In closing, think about this, if the OEA has been unsuccessful in getting someone elected for the past two years, after spending at least $150,000 dollars of active teacher's money, then what makes you think you are going to do any better? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Good luck on your path of denial, I assure you it will not help to bring you a victory.

Take care,

Tom Curtis

From: Conni Ramser
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006
Subject: Re: 012706 Curtis To Ramser, Keep Digging Your Hole

Tom,
I vote on the issues facing the system as we to move into the future. Those are the issues the people I talk to are concerned about.
Conni