Jim N. Reed to House Speaker Husted and Senate President Harris: Why the foot-dragging?

From Jim N. Reed, December 10, 2007

To: sd19@mailr.sen.state.oh.us; district27@ohr.state.oh.us; bill.hartnett@governor.ohio.gov

Subject: STRS Board Vacancy

Gentlemen,

I recently read a correspondence from Mrs. Molly Janczyk from Pickerington, Ohio, to each of you regarding the vacancy on the STRS Board that is your prerogative but remains unfilled after more than a year.

It does seem that Mrs. Janczyk is deserving of a more timely response than she has been granted. Sometimes a single person isn't heard very well but it should be noted that there are over 400,000 active and retired educators who are very dependent on the decisions coming from the STRS Board. Many of us are quite aware of the procrastination over the appointment of an investment expert that would complete the eleven-member Board.

If you have followed the inner workings at Ohio STRS over the past four years you are quite aware of the travesty inflicted on Ohio's educators by an entitlement mentality forthcoming from an out-of-touch Board and Executive Director. Thanks to some determined investigation and courageous whistle-blowing, a grass roots Renaissance has been initiated at STRS by a couple of unwavering Board members and a growing number of concerned educators.

To continue this reclamation of our retirement system we need highly qualified and vested individuals who will accept nothing less than total adherence to ORC 3307.15. Economics Professor Tom Hall of Miami University has been recommended for this General Assembly appointment for some time. Dr. Hall has been on the ballot for Board membership and received substantial support among Ohio's educators.

It would certainly, at the least, behoove you to respond to Mrs. Janczyk and seem the right thing to do to become more engaged in filling the Board vacancy as soon as possible.

As a 42-year Ohio public educator and STRS stakeholder I would ask you to seriously consider the rapid selection of Professor Thomas Hall as the House Speaker's and Senate President's appointee to the STRS Board.

Jim N. Reed