CORE's Tom Curtis to Jim Reed............

From Tom Curtis, January 19, 2011
Subject: 011911 Re Never again - Part II.... CORE member Jim Reed says it so well!!

Hello Jim,

Very well stated Jim. Wouldn't it be refreshing if the powers to be would actually listen to those of us that have been yelling from within their very sanctuary of the board room for nearly a decade?

I finally stopped being involved in the attempt to bring about change. In 2008 I finally came to the sad realization that after talking to the administration, board members and the members of the ORSC, that absolutely no matter what we the stakeholders had to say, the administration, board the ORSC were completely deaf to our concerns. They only do what they claim is best for us. That has been so far from the reality of what should have been done.

Dennis Leone pointed out many years ago that at least one of the numbers they used in the determining of the unfunded liability (the amount of teacher payroll into the system) was so far off, that the reality was, the unfunded liability actually stood at infinity at that time, but that was not what the accounting firm (Melon) was reporting. This effort was totally ignored by everyone of the administrators and board members in the board room that day. That was disgusting and yet no one was held accountable for making and accepting the false picture that had been presented.

It made me physically ill from the anger that grew within me. Then I came to this realization. The elected people that hold the positions that make these decisions are never going to be held accountable for their failure to listen to the stakeholders and bring about the necessary changes that will shield us from the repeated crashes of the stock market. They do not care, it is not their money. Most are all vested in OPERS, which has a 30 year unfunded liability. We the people are powerless and they know it.

TC