Bob Stein to Jim Stoll re: PBI Plan/McLagen and Threat of Lawsuits

From Bob Stein, October 24, 2009
Subject: Re: PBI Plan/McLagen and Threat of Lawsuits

Jim

I got a copy of a reply from Mr. Patterson on this. The questions in this email look different from the ones to which he responded. My statement was that I was not the person to ask.

I believe you read the minutes correctly.

Regardless of who we went with for compensation advice the data would have come from McLagen. Their data is, and has been, an industry standard. We still have the same access to the people you mentioned even with the McLagen advice.

A comment on the weight given to various advisors' advice in discussions that gave us the past PBI plans might better come from Dr. Leone since he was involved in them and, if I'm not mistaken, voted for them. He may not comment due to restrictions on executive session. I can't speculate how the current board will weight various advice in the upcoming discussion and I will not comment on it after the fact.

On another topic, it may be very productive for you and other STRS activists to direct your efforts toward getting a public option in whatever health care reform finally passes in Congress. Such an option would cut STRS's health care expenses by at least half and more than double the projected life of the healthcare stabilization fund. It would probably reduce the health care costs for the school districts and make them more amenable to our hoped-for contribution increases, reduce opposition to our pension bill in the Ohio General Assembly, as well as improve the health care available to the STRS retirees and their families. I don't have hard numbers but my rough guess is that this would be worth several times the total operating budget of STRS every year. It would certainly be worth more than any operating savings or attempting to extract concessions, no matter how great, from any group of employees. It would also give every retiree an immediate purchasing power increase greater than the proposed cuts in the COLA as well as at least partial freedom from future increases in a quality of life sector that otherwise promises to be financially devastating.

Thanks
Bob Stein