Dan MacDonald to STRS Board: There should be SHARED SACRIFICE AND A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

Dan MacDonald's speech to STRS Board

April 18, 2019

Holy Thursday, the last supper, and here we are. How appropriate? Easter is upon us but the only rising will be in the merit based raises budgeted for STRS staff. A 4.8 percent STRS compensation increase for 2019-2020. How many pieces of silver versus fiduciary loyalty to membership?

I am Dan MacDonald, a 38 year STRS retiree from the Cleveland Hts-University Hts City School District. I am here as Executive Director of Local 279-R, Northeast Ohio AFT retirees.

Let’s start with the salaries and bonuses, total compensation, of the top 2 Investment staff for 2018.

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All Investment staff positions are also eligible for merit-based raises. Board members, when do we, actives and retirees, find out the determining factors and criteria that go into which positions, and then, the factors influencing the amount of the raise given?

In contrast to the continual raises and bonuses, a reminder that the Investment Department gets a Performance-Based Incentive of salary even if the General Fund bellies-up, let’s look at what an active and now a 2018 retiree was denied by the Final Average Salary (FAS) committee.

A Cleveland Achievement Credit which amounted to $560 spread over two years can’t be used in FAS because it was for “services not rendered.” Cleveland Metro contracted with its union to pay the attendance bonus. According to ORC with STRS’s interpretation, you can’t raise your salary average for just being present. Services were rendered!

Additionally, a little over $6,000 in the teacher’s final year of service was denied because it was an excessive increase over the previous year salary. In the last year the teacher was forced to be responsible for assigned autistic students from their arrival to their departure and was paid such by the district for these extra hours.

STRS ruled that the excess wage was to be excluded as if it were a supplemental contract. Although the teacher received a letter that there could be an appearance before the FAS committee, the teacher was never informed of the time or date of the meeting until April 15th, 1 month after the meeting. Blame the US Postal Service and STRS. The committee met, the teacher was denied and received a letter stating “Since the laws and rules that create STRS Ohio provide no further appeal, the action of the Retirement Board is final.” FAS Customer Service? Membership wrong, STRS’s might makes it always right.

STRS ACQUIRES, ACTIVES/RETIREES get DISEMBOWELED. What other monies are being denied actives in their FAS? As always, there should be SHARED SACRIFICE AND A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD, retirees want their COLA restored.