Urgent message to active teachers from Jim Stoll

April 13-14, 2009
TEACHERS - If You Were Planning To Retire After 30 or 35 Years With Full Benefits and Medical Coverage - You MUST READ This Before Voting In The STRS Election.

Dear Fellow Teachers:

Those of you who are active teachers and contribute to STRS already have received or will be receiving ballots to elect a new member to the STRS Retirement Board. CORE as well as former STRS Board Member and one of the original educators who revealed STRS spending malpractice in 2003, John Lazares, has endorsed me, James A. Stoll, for this position.

Like many of you, I have contributed to the STRS fund for more than 20 years. During the past several months, I have been actively encouraging the STRS Board to limit their frivolous spending, which needed to start with eliminating the "Bonus" Plan (PBI) for STRS Investment Associates. I exposed the enormous STRS salaries and bonuses by disclosing the attached schedules to teachers and retirees throughout the State. Thereafter, the STRS Board responded to pressure from members. The Board, however, voted only to "suspend" (as opposed to eliminate) these outrageous bonuses, which topped out at $259,200 for one of our Investment Associates. It has come to my attention that many Strs members are under the misconception that the bonuses have been eliminated – this is not true. In fact, the Board is planning to pay "7/12" of the 2009 Bonuses in September 2009 (some as high as $165,000) ........... for losing more than thirty billion dollars ($30,000,000,000) of our pension assets. For those who are interested, I have attached a spreadsheet [click here to view] of the 2009 Preliminary Bonus figures for these "7/12" Bonuses. The STRS Board has not and probably will not, publish this information -- I had to make a public records request to get it! You have the right to know how your retirement funds are being spent.

We have all heard the phrase, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.” It appears that my persistence has ruffled the feathers of some at the STRS and the OEA. My disclosure of the enormous losses and inexplicable expenditures has been characterized by the OEA as a "cynical exploitation of the Emotions of Educators." Let me assure you that there is nothing cynical about me or my desire to fix this problem that is jeopardizing our futures. Let me also assure you that I do not care how many bureaucrats get upset in the process. As for “the Emotions of Educators” – I submit that the Educators in Ohio certainly should be emotional about this travesty.

Here is my response to those at the STRS and OEA who chose to criticize me. Educators do have a "Right To Know" how 10% of every one of their paychecks is being spent. Taxpayers do have a right to know where 14% of their School Board's dollars are going. Teachers, Principals, Superintendents, School Board Members, Retirees and Taxpayers have a "Right to Know" that 83 STRS investment associates are going to receive their 7/12 Bonuses in September unless a CHANGE is made. Some of these bonuses will be as much as $165,000, despite a loss of over $30,000,0000,000 in the past 18 months.

In its March ENews to teachers and retirees, the STRS sent the following message and I quote: "This means that, unless changes are made, the system would eventually be unable to PAY members earned benefits. As a result the (STRS) Retirement Board needs to look at options, other than higher investment returns, to strengthen the solvency of the pension fund. These options could include, changes to contributions, the minimum retirement age, early retirement factors, cost to purchase service credit, the retirement formula, cost of living (COLA) or how final average salary is calculated."

IN OTHER WORDS: The Board is exploring changing and/or cutting your retirement benefits while at the same time planning to pay huge "Bonuses" to their staff. Interestingly, in the vote to suspend the bonuses (a 6-3-1 vote), former OEA-endorsed Board Members Tim Myers and Mark Meuser voted AGAINST suspending the bonuses and Connie Ramser abstained.

I would love your vote, but only if you agree with me and believe that paying these outrageous salaries and bonuses, while planning to cut our benefits, cannot be tolerated.. If you want what I want -- to reign in spending, keep benefits as they are, and hold investment staff accountable for losing 40% of our pension assets -- then I would encourage you to vote for me, because that is what I intend to fight for.

I am providing the following links for those interested to read for some unbiased media reports of STRS so you can form your own opinion and not take my word or the word of others.

http://www..dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/16/basepay.html?sid=101
http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=280919

Just this week, there were reports of Governor of Missouri speaking out about similar atrocities occurring in that State’s public pension system. Governor Jay Nixon called the bonuses “unconscionable” after the Post-Dispatch brought them to his attention. He stated, “It defies common sense that these folks would preside over the loss of almost $2 billion and receive bonuses,” he said Friday.” Nixon said it was “especially galling” that the investment staff received five- and six-figure bonuses in a year when the rest of the state work force is getting no raises. “This bonus system is clearly broken, and we’re going to fix it,” Nixon said.

http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2009/04/05/breaking_news/doc49d7872b15f6c915146278.txt

http://www.kathiebracy.blogspot.com/ is also a great resource for STRS Ohio issues.

Fellow Educators, our system is broken and I intend to do everything in my power to help fix it. I appreciate you taking the time to read this message. If you want to take direct action I'd encourage you to Email STRS Exec. Dir. Mike Nehf nehfm@strsoh.org and the STRS Board board@strsoh.org and tell them to "Eliminate the Bonuses." Feel free to copy (cc) me on the email if you wish. jastoll@yahoo.com

Respectfully,
James A. Stoll
Director of Athletics
Sycamore High School
STRS Board Candidate
7400 Cornell Rd.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
jastoll@yahoo.com