Kathie Bracy to Mark Meuser: Would the survey results be the same if everyone had all the facts?

From Kathie Bracy, October 25, 2006
Subject: Re: Your vote on the Vendor Contract issue
Hi Mark –

I want to thank you for your response to my inquiry regarding your thinking on the vendor contracts. I very much appreciate the time you took to “bone up” before coming to a decision on which way to vote.

As a scholar and a teacher, I know you are well aware that “book learning” is good, but only to a point. Practical application is something else altogether, and when you consider that human lives are affected in the long run, the element of compassion suddenly becomes the most important single component of any decision you will ever make as a member of the STRS Board. I would much rather have a “non-learned” person making the right decision from that standpoint than someone with all the education in the world making the wrong one. I hope you see my point.

About that provision in ORC 3307.15 which “requires board members to act in ways which are consistent with other trustees in like positions,” here again, I believe you could be treading on dangerous ground in this particular situation. When I look at how many other (former) Board members have been sent to court and convicted on ethics charges, I’m not so sure I want Board members to necessarily act “in ways which are consistent with other trustees in like positions.” We need Board members who are doing the Right Thing, in keeping with the spirit of ORC 3307.15 (with the membership being the judge here), regardless of what some of his peers may think. We need independent thinkers who are not afraid to delve into the issues, ask questions, demand answers and not be afraid to stand up for what is right.

I am still not clear on how requiring Board approval of vendor contracts would or could impair the staff’s ability to negotiate the best possible deal for the system. If you could fill me in a little more on this, I would appreciate it.

In your response to Paul Boyer, regarding trust, you mentioned “In the latest survey of members, published in STRS Ohio News of February, 2006, 77% of active members and 83% of retired members agree that the system has earned their trust.” This does not say anything about why 23% of the active members and 17% of the retired members who responded did not indicate trust for STRS. Has STRS done a survey on this? I have not seen one. Did STRS publicize what information about the history and actions of STRS Board members and staff had been made available by them to the membership before the survey was taken, since this is virtually all the membership has to go by in establishing a level of trust? Could it be that a great deal of information was never made available, so that a large portion of the membership has no way of even being aware of much that has transpired within the ranks of their retirement system in recent years? And if they don’t know, how valid can this type of survey be? If 100% of the membership had access to the information that has come out since 2003, and information that is still coming out, do you honestly believe the survey results would be the same? Do you believe all surveys?

Again, thank you, Mark, for your sincerity, openness, diligence in doing your homework for this job and your willingness to communicate. You seem to be willing and eager to learn, and we have high hopes for you. Thank you for being willing to listen to our viewpoints. I am counting on your wisdom to increase as time goes on.

Kathie Bracy

P.S. Did you receive a credit card from STRS? If so, do you still have it? If not, (if you had one), when did you turn it in? Were you aware that other Board members had them, but that some did not? If so, did you know who was not issued the cards and why?