Lots of rain and flooding in north central OH lately, but one place that's going to get a lot of sunshine from now on is 275 E. Broad Street, Columbus

From John Curry, August 24, 2007
Subject: An April AG request and results..... More sunshine for 275 E. Broad Street!!

It has been a few months since I and others have asked our Attorney General for his stance on secret balloting by STRS Board members at an open board meeting. Unlike this CORE member, Marc doesn't editorialize much! His reply, "We are looking at it." Well....it appears that he did! My April letter to Dann is attached and below is a paragraph taken from the ORTA web page (yes, I credit them for informing us) which gives us the good news! John

Election Procedures for Board Leaders Changed

"The Board changed the procedure for electing officers from a written secret ballot to an open meeting voice vote. This change was prompted by an opinion from Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann that the secret ballot process previously in place was a violation of the Open Meetings Act. A similar change in the procedure for filling vacant Board seats is under review and is expected to be brought to the Board in the coming months."

April 8, 2007

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 Retired Educators (CORE)

E-mail response from Marc Dann, April 8, 2007:

We are looking at it