Tom Curtis to STRS: The goose that lays the golden eggs for all of you has had enough!

From Donna Seaman, August 25, 2009
Subject: Re: 082409 Seaman, Re Curtis To Ecklar, Concerning Today's STRS News

Tom: Thanks for your reply to my suggestion about a possible class action suit. You are right but, still, I am so frustrated (as are you and others) about the helplessness and hopelessness of trying to initiate changes at STRS! Did my comment to you, and your response to me, go to John Curry's e mail address list? If not, maybe it should!

Donna Seaman

From Tom Curtis, August 25, 2009

Hello Donna,

Sorry to say this, but litigation against the board and STRS by the stakeholders will likely never happen. The STRS management certainly realize this fact. What is the sense of it? We the stakeholders would be spending our own money to sue people that would be using our own money to defend themselves. The system is rigged against us. It is just a more sophisticated type of mafia, called state government. We have no arm of the government that represents us. They take our money, promise us many things in retirement, change their minds and then they determine what we get back. Ain't that a great deal?

During the time we were causing Herb Dyer to retire, so many of us searched high and low for someone, anyone or law enforcement agency that would take any decisive action against the STRS management and board. Absolutely no one would take any action on our behalf, other then the Ohio Ethics Commission (OEC). That one organization was the one probably chosen by the politicians of that time to hand down a slap on the hand to those possibly guilty of felony offenses. We were assured by the head of that commission that what they had found was all there was. Right!

In July of 2003, Dennis Leone had the ear of the State Inspector General, Thomas Charles and he was ready to start a forensic investigation into his and others' findings of misspending. Jim Petro, the state attorney general, held a seat on the board at that time, and Betty Montgomery, auditor of state also held a seat on the board. Together they lobbied Governor Taft to line item veto the funds for Thomas Charles to make his investigation. That was the end of that investigation.

In my opinion, it makes no difference who is in office, politics is politics and nothing happens at that level that does not involve politics. You and I are the test mice for the programs they control. We are truly nobody in the eyes of politics and those in charge.

Also, there is very little true support amongst the stakeholders for such action. No firm in the state of Ohio could/would represent such litigation. This is a sad scenario, but these things we have already established.

Tom Curtis
From Donna Seaman, August 24, 2009 3:45 PM
Subject: Re: 082409 Curtis To Ecklar, Concerning Today's STRS News

Way to go, Tom Curtis! Maybe some of us should begin considering possible class action litigation against the board and the STRS administration? Donna Seaman

Tom Curtis to Laura Ecklar, August 24, 2009
Subject: 082409 Curtis To Ecklar, Concerning Today's STRS News

Hello Laura,

Within the STRS News posted today, it is once again noted that, "Further, while reducing operating expenditures is always important, it is also not the solution to the funding problem."

While I agree with that statement in part, the OSTRS executive staff IS the problem and that has yet to be addressed properly.

The staff has received the "Cadillac" income and benefits for many years, while the stakeholders continually are asked to tighten their belts and cough up even more funds to get what they were promised throughout their careers. This scenario is beyond absurd! No one in his/her right mind would buy into this scenario. Due to the OSTRS management's incompetence, the wheels are starting to fall of off the gravy train you people have been riding since 1992.

From my own experiences starting in 2003, reducing operating expenditures as never been seen as important by the staff. All I have ever heard are justifications for not reducing operating expenses. I have heard more of that then I can stomach.

What has been relinquished since 2003 has been done so with a huge amount of arm-twisting. Then the STRS administration, board and OEA have taken credit for such, which is absolutely not the case!

Both the OEA and ORTA have stood by and sanctioned this ridiculous environment and provided absolutely no help! All they want is our money as well!

Further, the very people that have caused such reductions to take place have been called disgruntled retirees, dissidents and many other titles brewed up by a bunch of incompetent people unwilling to be accountable for the job they were hired to do. We have not gotten value for our dollar ever since Herb Dyer became the executive director in 1992 and went to bed with the OEA.

In my opinion, you and the other current administrators are never going to do the job you were hired to do. Since 1920 the STRS has received a dedicated flow of income from the educators of this state. All the staff has been asked to do is produce a guaranteed pension and HC benefit for the retiree. The HC benefit is in a death spiral today, and will be gone within the next decade, if not sooner. This is due to the OSTRS management and OEA's failure to find the dedicated flow of income to properly fund the HC program they promised would be there at retirement. What a hoax!

Obviously that has not been the highest priority of the staff, otherwise the stakeholders would not be currently looking at taking on yet more expense to provide what we were promised throughout our careers.

This whole mismanagement and misspending mess started with Herb Dyer and the OEA sanctioning his arrival in 1992.

As I stated the first time I spoke to the board in June of 2003, I will fight for the reform of the OSTRS. until I die, which would not be soon enough in the eyes of the greedy and heartless people currently managing the

Today, I am calling for the resignation of the administrative staff and board of the STRS due to their obvious incompetence and mishandling of our retirement funds for many years.

I assure you, the coming onslaught of stakeholders demanding such will be something none of you has ever experienced, or probably ever thought about. It is coming and your days ahead will not be pleasant. But then, you only have yourselves to thank for the situation you have placed our retirement system in, due to your feelings of entitlement and greed. The goose that lays the golden eggs for all of you has had enough!

Tom Curtis - 1998 Retiree