Oops! Ms. Frost-Brooks forgot to mention how the OEA-endorsed active teacher STRS Board members voted, didn't she?

From John Curry, March 31, 2009
Subject: Re: Making sure you got this e-mail from Patricia Frost-Brooks

Mr. Mahoney,

I respond to your forwarded letter from OEA President, Patricia Frost-Brooks, and trust you will deliver it to her.

Ms. Frost-Brooks,

How can you say, in your letter below, that the OEA supports the current suspension of bonus checks and no bonuses during down years in the stock market when the OEA-backed active teacher board members Myers, Meuser, and Ramser did not vote in support of said decisions?

You also neglected to mention the OEA-backed STRS board member/active teacher Tai Hayden who, unlike Myers, Meuser and Ramser above, voted with the majority of the board to suspend these bonuses. Are you not "proud" of her? I am.

Sincerely,

John Curry a retired educator

From Mike Mahoney, March 31, 2009
Subject: Making sure you got this e-mail from Patricia Frost-Brooks

Hi, John,

I’ve been out from the office, but intending to make sure you got the message from OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks, below.

Thanks.

Mike

[From Patricia Frost-Brooks via Mike Mahoney]

Dear Mr. Curry,

As President and official spokesperson of the Ohio Education Association, I am responding to your to your email to Mike Mahoney, OEA Director of Communications.

In light of the magnitude of market losses, we support the Board’s actions to suspend the bonus program and make reductions going forward. However, OEA believes it’s in the best interest of members of the system for STRS to retain high-quality investment staff. STRS saves tens of millions of dollars by having an internal staff rather than paying higher fees and transaction costs to Wall Street brokers. Further, investment performance of just .5% over the broader market generates hundreds of millions. That there was earnest and sometimes heated disagreement over policy decisions during the deliberation of this difficult and complex issue is not surprising. We support that kind of discourse when it is respectful and civil in tone. I am proud of Mark Meuser, Tim Myers, and Connie Ramser as OEA members who take their fiduciary responsibility to heart, stand up to bullying, and base their decisions on the best interests of all members of the system.

I am aware that state law allows STRS to keep member records private (information such as social security numbers, financial information, telephone numbers, etc.) and not open to public inspection. We support STRS’s decision not to provide member email addresses to the public in light of their right to privacy and the potential security risk of internet scams, viruses and the like. State law does, however, require that STRS provide lists of member names and addresses when requested.

Finally, Mr. Curry, I do agree with you regarding the intelligence of our members. I am certain that they are aware of the gravity of these economic times and their effect on the pension systems in America. As the STRS Board wrestles with the challenges presented by our struggling economy members are watching. They have the concerns that we all share—will I have a secure pension and access to affordable health care in retirement? I am confident that our elected STRS Board will continue to guide responsibly one of the premier pension systems in the United States. At OEA, we appreciate their efforts and the efforts of STRS staff fulfill their duties to both current and future retirees.

Sincerely,

Patricia Frost-Brooks, OEA President