Shirlee Zerkel: Letter to the Editor re: Bonuses and raises for STRS investment staff

Lima News, April 16, 2009
Letter: Teachers lose billions, but bonuses continue
Shirlee Zerkel, Lima

Teachers and retirees in the Lima area are watching their retirement system assets tumble, but bonuses and raises for investment staff have gone up.

The Ohio Retirement Study Council, a group that oversees all five of Ohio's public retirement systems, released information April 8 that compares the investment performance of each of the five Ohio retirement systems. Five years ago, the State Teachers Retirement System was No. 1; three years ago, it was fourth; one year ago, it was fifth. Just two quarters ago, it was still fifth out of five in performance.

This makes it difficult to understand why the STRS Board voted only to suspend PBIs instead of eliminating them.

The September bonuses could total more than $3 million. The 2008 bonuses were in excess of $6 million. These same investment staff associates received a hefty raise that took effect July 2008. The raises averaged 6.1 percent with the highest being close to 15 percent. This outrageous spending of the teachers' and taxpayers' contributions happened while the investments that the staff were overseeing lost more than $30 billion in value. These bonuses should stop completely because STRS' investment performance is in fifth place among the state's pension systems.

We need candidates who are willing to speak out, like Jim Stoll and Bob Stein, on the STRS Board.