Letter from a blogger

From Kathie Bracy, January 6, 2008

Hi (xxx) --

Hope you had a good holiday; this was one of the busier ones for me, and I'm ready to put it behind me and start getting caught up with things.

I hear what you're saying about ground rules and mutual respect, regarding the STRS Board, but the drum I hear even more loudly is the one that calls for a little more forceful action in the name of reform. Had the king of England and Parliament listened to the American colonists 200+ years ago, they might not have had a Revolutionary War on their hands. When serious issues continue to be glossed over instead of dealt with in a proper manner, those who are trying to put an end to all policies and decisions that run contrary to ORC 3307.15 are going to be less and less concerned with ground rules and mutual respect and more interested in Reform -- whatever it takes to accomplish it.

I know you aren't exactly thrilled with Dennis' style, but as I see it, it's the ONLY style that is getting a lot of things done on that Board. Had it not been for Dennis, you and I both know the corruption that was going on before (thanks to OEA "pillars" such as Mike Billirakis, Jack Chapman, Hazel Sidaway, Debbie Scott and Eugene Norris -- and one ORTA "pillar," Joe Endry -- and their good buddy Herb Dyer) would still be going on today. Yes -- fancy trips, dinners in fancy restaurants, free booze, cars, credit cards, baseball games, Broadway shows, and on and on. Free money for all -- hey, STRS is RICH -- let's just forget about those poor, sick retirees living on pensions less than $20,000 a year!

I know you and some others don't like to see the past dredged up time after time, and I get very sick of dredging it up myself. The big issue I see is this: the issues Dennis Leone brought to light should never have happened in the first place, as they ran totally counter to ORC 3307.15 -- and today's Board is STILL trying to do the same thing. Is it RIGHT to allow those legal fees to be paid? Is it WRONG for the Board to be aware of decisions the executive director is making and to intervene when it gets out of hand? Are we supposed to TRUST an executive director who slips credit cards to Board members without other Board members or the membership knowing about it? Or who expects the Board to approve big spending contracts with NO DOCUMENTS in hand, and allowing some willing lawyer to insert FURTHER language into it, AFTER it is approved? You know, it's been a LONG time since we've had an executive director we could trust.

I'm sure the "old Board" adhered nicely to the "Baldrige Principles." No doubt they had very civil, politely run meetings -- hey, they were all on the SAME SIDE -- greedy money grabbers; no need for uncivil behavior or attention to "ground rules." (xxx), you can criticize style all you want; it's the substance of the decisions of this Board that I and many others are continually eyeing -- we couldn't care less about "style." I'm sure there are Board members who hate the microscope we have put them under, but WE are the membership -- it's OUR money; and based on past history (much of which is still festering), how else are we going to get them to wake up and make ALL their decisions based on what is RIGHT and in accordance with ORC 3307.15? We'd ALL like to get the job done in a "civil" and "polite" manner, but when such approaches are not effective, what other choices are there? Hopefully the day will come when we CAN feel we can trust the staff to follow policy and make good decisions. We're not there yet.

If Mark Meuser is concerned about legal issues involved in having the Board be the only decision-maker, no problem -- that's why we have Neville and Patterson around. We don't want laws broken, either.

I, too, would like to see a more cooperative atmosphere on the Board, but that's not going to happen as long as they continue to rubber-stamp issues that are totally contrary to 3307.15 with only one or two Board members raising objections. Gee, if we didn't have those dissenters, they could operate very smoothly and in accordance with the Baldrige Principles -- wouldn't THAT be nice! And in no time we'd be right back where we started, with this nice little love affair between staff and Board. I'm not for it, (xxx). I'm for making right decisions and following existing policy, which doesn't say staff members should go out and hire their own lawyers without proper authorization, then expect the Board to pay those lawyers out of retiree funds. If we could TRUST staff and management, this kind of thing would never have happened in the first place. It would and should never have become an issue. Tell me something: if Dennis had not spoken up about this issue, who do you think would have? I don't see people like Mark Meuser bringing up things like this. It's a lot easier just to let them slip by, unnoticed by many. You don't look like a good little Board member to certain factions if you bring up stuff like this.

I'm sorry the fear of being "bashed" is keeping you from allowing me to post your comments on my blog. If you truly believe all that you are saying, then there is absolutely nothing to fear. Dennis has been bashed mercilessly and repeatedly since he exposed STRS management and Board in 2003, but he doesn't allow it to faze him because he and thousands of STRS members know he is right. Yes, there are those who would like very much to shut him up in the name of civility and politeness. But I say more power to him, because his way is the ONLY way that is bringing about change on that Board. (Notice he's always very polite when the Board is making the right decisions.) The "bad environment" has nothing to do with demeanor, but everything to do with Board decisions. Once that gets straightened out, I guarantee you will see more civility and politeness than you've ever seen anywhere, because there won't be any reason for anything less.

Thank you for writing, and Happy New Year. Let's hope the coming year will bring about what you want -- more politeness and civility on the STRS Board; and what I want -- good reason for more politeness and civility on the Board.

Kathie Bracy

Dennis Leone's INVESTIGATIVE REPORT on STRS: May 16, 2003