RH Jones: Guiding Principles for the Retirement Board

From RH Jones, February 23, 2007

Subject: Guiding Principles for the Retirement Board

To all:

Just before Dr. K. Fluke's and my presentation that just followed his at the STRS board meeting in January , I noticed the "Guiding Principles for the Retirement Board" was displayed just above the guest coffee maker. It stated this:

"The membership of the Retirement Board of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio are dedicated to promoting and protecting benefits and general well being of all members of the system and to that end, adhere to the following guiding principles.

Members of the Board:

• Honor and support the values, vision and mission of the STRS Ohio.
• Deliberate in a proactive manner in order to anticipate and prepare for change and growth.
• Encourage and respect diversity and opinions during deliberations, but speak with one voice once decisions are made.
• Ensure the STRS Ohio initiatives are charted through collective board action.
• Conduct business in a courteous manner toward fellow board members, STRS Ohio members."

As a Concerned Ohio Retired Educator, it concerns me that some of these principles have not been followed in the past by some Members of the Board, but I am confident that they shall all do so in the future.

Never mind courtesy issues, our STRS just lost a chance to "grow" when the Board did not push to have the STRS included in the first section of HB 272 that mandates employers deposit their contributions monthly, rather than quarterly. The STRS would, therefore, have the funds "early on" to then invest. The OPERS was allowed to do this, but not our STRS; Why not? Baby steps count as long as it moves us forward. And moving forward does not mean being left behind. You will notice in the Executive Director's Report of Jan. 18, 2007, there was mention of the HB 272, but no mention of only OPERS being allowed to collect employers' funding monthly. All STRS members were left out and, thusly, left behind without this chance to "grow." "Growth" for STRS is growth for Ohio. Please tell me if I am wrong. I do not think so.

A CORE member of our STRS Ohio,

Robert Hudson Jones