John Curry to Marc Dann: Secret ballots legit at STRS?

From John Curry, April 8, 2007
Subject: A letter to the Ohio Attorney General

April 8, 2007
Attorney General Dann
State Office Tower
30 East Broad Street, 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3428

Dear Attorney General Marc Dann,
Recently, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio conducted several “secret” ballot votes in public sessions to appoint replacements for open seats on the Ohio STRS Board.
In light of your “reform stance” concerning actions of Ohio governmental agencies and the desire to ensure that the Ohio Open Records Act is followed in both the spirit and the letter of the law, I am requesting that this practice of secret balloting in an open meeting be addressed by you. I do understand that sometimes the administration at STRS has stated that Ohio STRS is a quasi-governmental body and as such is not subject to certain statutes of the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Administrative Code. By the same token, the Ohio STRS is funded by public tax monies in the form of employer contributions from over 600 public school systems in this state.
Would you please examine this practice of secret balloting during open meetings at Ohio STRS and inform thousands of Ohio STRS retirees as to the legality of this practice? I and my fellow retired brothers and sisters are eagerly awaiting your answer to a practice that we feel is not in the best interest of open government in the State of Ohio. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John Curry
30 year retiree of Ohio’s public schools
Member of Concerned Ohio Retire Educators (CORE)