Betsy Cook's letter in the Marietta Times: Elect Tom Hall and Mark Fredrick

Marietta Times
April 1, 2006

Educators of Washington County, it is STRS Board member election time again. Early April, you will receive your ballot to elect two active members to the State Teachers Retirement System Board. I encourage you to read about the five candidates running for the two positions and hope you will consider this article as just one piece of reading.

I recommend Tom Hall and Mark Fredrick for the two active teacher positions. After a review of this year's activities at STRS, I will share information about these two gentlemen and why I feel they are the best candidates.

Each active and retired teacher that voted in the last two STRS elections can feel proud because you were an integral part of “democracy in action”. After learning about the abuse and misuse of your retirement funds by the STRS Board, you voted the old Board members out by electing new Board members. With the help of Senate Bill 133 passed by the Ohio Legislature and your votes for change, the eleven-member Board has eight new faces! As I attend the Board meetings, I notice that these new members are not “rubber stamps” but thinking, questioning and concerned participants.

We, the members of STRS, have sent the message that we expect Board members to fulfill their duty “to act solely on the behalf of STRS membership”, that we are paying attention and will remove Board members not carrying out their elected duties responsibly. The new Board members have heard us and are now listening to us, the members.

There is still much work to be done. The budget has been reduced but still has waste. Salaries, bonuses and perks for employees need to be further studied and made reasonable. The childcare center has not yet become self-sustaining. A pet peeve of mine is the extravagant building that is a drain on the budget and has much wasted and unused space. This will take some creative problem solving.

Our investors are making great gains for the pension system but a vitally important issue to be resolved is affordable health care for all members and their dependents. The Board has many issues to deal with and will require the help of a strong, involved membership working in collaboration and unison.

The members of CORE (Concerned Ohio Retired Educators -- active and retired teachers that joined Dennis Leone in exposing the previous Board and administration) realize the importance of involvement, perseverance and collaboration. CORE members continue to meet with the director of STRS and attend every Board and committee meeting.

This all-volunteer group is vigilant and works to build positive communication channels with STRS Board members, ORTA (Ohio Retired Teachers Association), AFT (American Federation of Teachers) and OEA (Ohio Education Association). As a member of STRS, CORE, and ORTA, I realize it does not matter with which group you are affiliated; we all have an equal stake in the solvency of STRS. It is vital that we not forget the past but learn from it and together build a stronger STRS for the future of all Ohio educators.

As I mentioned, 8 of the 11 Board members are new. The two active seats that are up for election in April (one current member choosing not to run, one current member running for the seat) could mean an almost complete renewal of the STRS Board since the uncovering by Dennis Leone of the massive waste and extravagant spending by the previous Board. My hope is that this will happen so we can continue the process of rebuilding the trust between STRS and we, the membership.

Earlier, I stated my recommendations of Tom Hall and Mark Fredrick.

Tom Hall is a professor of economics at Miami University and the author of books and articles on business cycles and marketing trends. Tom feels his strong investment background will help him as a Board member to find ways to hold down operating costs, stem administrative bloat and overhead and oversee investment funds.

Mark Fredrick is an active classroom English teacher in Cleveland Municipal Schools. Mark feels he is an independent thinker, a good problem solver and has an ability to connect with people.

Both pledge to strictly adhere to ORC 3307.15 “act solely in the interest of membership”, have open communication with membership, prudently oversee the STRS funds and work for the continuation of affordable health care.

Finally, CORE has endorsed Tom Hall and Mark Fredrick because we feel Tom’s knowledge of economics will be invaluable for insuring fiduciary responsibility and Mark’s people and problem solving skills will help promote communication and creative workable solutions.

More information can be found at www.concernedohio.org. I know that as an active teacher, your time is very limited but your retirement future may depend on a few minutes of that time. When you receive your ballot in early April, please vote. I encourage you to elect Tom Hall and Mark Fredrick to continue the rebuilding of trust, the responsible management of our funds and for our future.

Betsy Cook, retired Marietta teacher
Lowell, Ohio