Tribute to Dr. Dennis Leone by Tom Curtis
In January 2003 the cost of HC for STRS retirees began its huge spiral upward. I had been discussing this issue by email with many retirees from my school system. Talk of Dr. Dennis Leone’s efforts to curb expenses at the STRS surfaced. On May 1st, 2003, I captured Dr. Leone’s email address and sent him an email asking several questions about the STRS operation and oversight possibilities.
Since he was a sitting superintendent and had plenty on his plate, I thought I would not likely hear back from him for sometime. However, the next morning I was pleasantly surprised to find his response to my questions.
From that day forward, he became a trusted friend and advocate, and has nearly always been available for communication. Many others and I have supported his efforts to bring about much needed reform, concerning matters of mismanagement and misspending at the STRS. I have never been acquainted with someone of his stature, determination and dedication to his cause on behalf of educators throughout Ohio.
Over the past 7 years, Dennis Leone has spent endless hours of time trying to make sense of the outlandish spending that has occurred by the STRS management and board members. He has been labeled a hero by many, to a dissident board member by the OEA, because of his efforts to simply bring about accountability. He has received prestigious awards from various organizations for his efforts and vigilance. On the other hand, he has been rarely supported by the full STRS board, OEA, OFT, or ORTA; those organizations that derive their dedicated flow of income from educators. It is obvious to me that those organizations desire our dedicated flow of income, but desire little oversight over what they do with our money. This is simply just WRONG!
Dennis, your days on the board are numbered and those who have not supported your efforts will be joyful that you will be gone so they may get back to business as usual, of abusing our funds, while many retirees suffer the negative effects of their mismanagement and misspending.
I wish to thank each and every CORE member for their dedication and support of Dr. Leone’s efforts. It should be obvious that his issues and concerns have not fully been addressed. The high cost of operation of the STRS is still a huge issue, one few stakeholders seem to take seriously. In the near future, when our legislature calls for the reduction of our pensions, many more stakeholders may come to their senses and call for the accountability Dr. Leone has called for over the past 6 years. Consequently, I encourage each of you CORE members to continue the fight for accountability and transparency at the STRS.
To Dr. Leone’s family, I wish to sincerely thank you for also supporting his efforts, knowing that each of you has had to share him with us. Our love and admiration goes out to each of you, because you truly understand his need to embrace these issues.
Since he was a sitting superintendent and had plenty on his plate, I thought I would not likely hear back from him for sometime. However, the next morning I was pleasantly surprised to find his response to my questions.
From that day forward, he became a trusted friend and advocate, and has nearly always been available for communication. Many others and I have supported his efforts to bring about much needed reform, concerning matters of mismanagement and misspending at the STRS. I have never been acquainted with someone of his stature, determination and dedication to his cause on behalf of educators throughout Ohio.
Over the past 7 years, Dennis Leone has spent endless hours of time trying to make sense of the outlandish spending that has occurred by the STRS management and board members. He has been labeled a hero by many, to a dissident board member by the OEA, because of his efforts to simply bring about accountability. He has received prestigious awards from various organizations for his efforts and vigilance. On the other hand, he has been rarely supported by the full STRS board, OEA, OFT, or ORTA; those organizations that derive their dedicated flow of income from educators. It is obvious to me that those organizations desire our dedicated flow of income, but desire little oversight over what they do with our money. This is simply just WRONG!
Dennis, your days on the board are numbered and those who have not supported your efforts will be joyful that you will be gone so they may get back to business as usual, of abusing our funds, while many retirees suffer the negative effects of their mismanagement and misspending.
I wish to thank each and every CORE member for their dedication and support of Dr. Leone’s efforts. It should be obvious that his issues and concerns have not fully been addressed. The high cost of operation of the STRS is still a huge issue, one few stakeholders seem to take seriously. In the near future, when our legislature calls for the reduction of our pensions, many more stakeholders may come to their senses and call for the accountability Dr. Leone has called for over the past 6 years. Consequently, I encourage each of you CORE members to continue the fight for accountability and transparency at the STRS.
To Dr. Leone’s family, I wish to sincerely thank you for also supporting his efforts, knowing that each of you has had to share him with us. Our love and admiration goes out to each of you, because you truly understand his need to embrace these issues.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 11:57 AM
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