Tom Curtis: Letter to STRS Board

April 30, 2006

Hello STRS Board Members,

First, I want to express my sincere appreciation to each of you for the large commitment of time and dedication you provide to the STRS retirement system. Your task is a daunting one, to say the very least. I am sure, too, that a great deal of family support is also required in order for you to be able to do this job, and I can appreciate this, too.

At the same time, most of you made the decision to become a member of this board and were elected to your position by various groups of educators throughout the state. Four of you were appointed by one or more people to represent the Department of Education and/or our state government. Your dedication to serving your community and state by doing so is extremely admirable, given that you do not receive any monetary compensation for doing so. The combined experience, knowledge and expertise of this current board far exceeds that of any board before you in the history of the STRS. In my opinion, after closely observing monthly board meetings for the past three years, it is evident that the demands on your abilities are unparalleled and unprecedented. There is a huge amount of work to be done. The need to become a cohesive board is one of grave importance, more than ever before.

Having elected seven of the eleven board members, the STRS membership can only hope all eleven of you will fulfill your fiduciary responsibility according to ORC 3307.15. No doubt it is obvious by now that if we feel you have not done your legal, moral and ethical duty in this respect, we will not hesitate to tell you so, as we expect accountability from each and every one of you. We sincerely hope you fully understand what that section of the ORC requires of you, as this is what the membership is going to hold you to from this point forward.

You may recall that I addressed the board on April 20th, 2006, requesting that each of you read Dr. Dennis Leone's two position papers presented to the STRS board and executive staff in 2003: his initial investigative report on the spending and management practices at STRS and his recommendations for change. These documents were presented to the board and executive staff of the STRS in 2003. They are still highly relevant and should never have had to be called to the attention of this board from one who was an outsider at the time.

As I stated on April 20th, I find few issues in these documents that have been addressed to the satisfaction of the membership. It is inexcusable that this was not done a long time ago. Since they have for the most part been blatantly ignored by the executive director and senior staff, I feel it is my duty to again bring them to your attention, especially those of you who are new to this board. Tenured members are very much aware of these documents, though some have evidently chosen to ignore them. This is unconscionable and irresponsible, and will not be tolerated any longer.

As I stated that day, I pledge to continue to bring these two documents before the board on a monthly basis, if necessary, until I feel all the issues contained in them have been appropriately dealt with. Furthermore, if I see little or no evidence of progress to this effect in a timely manner, I see no choice but to file an official complaint with the Attorney General's office requesting such action on your part.

I will see that you each receive copies of both of Dr. Leone's reports, either by email or by snail mail (for those who do not email) and expect to receive a response from each board member concerning your own personal thoughts and your intentions concerning this matter.

I have spent a great deal of time and money over the past three years, attempting to understand the many issues and undertakings of STRS board members. I have not and probably never will sit in your seat, so I realize I cannot fully appreciate your position. This is why I ask many questions of many of you; at least those of you who are willing to communicate with me and with other STRS members with any regularity. I understand this can be very time consuming, but I urge you strongly to show us you are actually addressing the issues.

By now you are well aware that I am in this until I feel confident the STRS membership and I are being well represented by our board members. You must direct the staff as to the best practices according to 3307.15, which has not happened for some time now. Instead, others and I feel the management has directed the board according to their own desires by using expensive and unnecessary consulting firms to "justify" and document their position, all at the expense of the retirement fund. This must be stopped immediately and accountability by the board must be restored.

In closing, I would like to add that I was very impressed by the board members who did take issue with the staff's manner in advising prospective retirees concerning the future cost of health care once they retired. That was bold and right. This is the kind of direction the board should be giving. If this is looked at as micro managing, which really is not your job in the first place, then please find the right person to do it. I believe I can speak for the entire membership and state this is what the membership expects. We will not settle for less.

Sincerely,
Thomas Curtis
CORE Advisory Committee Member