John Curry to Rita Walters: JUST SAY NO!

From John Curry

June 12, 2021

Letter to Rita Walters

STRS Board member Rita Walters,

A few months back you gave your "they went home and did their jobs" speech. And now, next week, the STRS administration has the audacity to ask you and your fellow Board members to approve, at the June Board meeting, A 1.4% INCREASE IN YOUR 2022 BUDGET?? Really???

Active teachers have now gone years with a 14% contribution rate (second highest in the United States), and many retirees have gone 7 years without a COLA and you are being asked to approve more moneys to operate on from a building that, when built 20 years ago, had a staff of over 700 and now have a staff of 500??

Your administration has the audacity to ask for a 1.4% budget increase when they are too d..n lazy to even rent (or lease) out office space in your building which is larger than two football fields combined??? All of this when the Police & Fire, SERS (across the street) and OPERS ALL rent out building space in their buildings to other entities which make monthly rent payments to offset their expenses??? Rita, tell your "handlers" that they should get off their butts and make some money off your and my dead office space at 275 East Broad Street!

"Merit increases, promotions and adjustments?" If anything you should have long ago stopped all merit increases and "adjustments" as the people whom you are supposed to be serving, actives and retirees, have done without for years now and, for actives, will have to work longer for less. Rita, it's time YOU tightened YOUR Belt! Have your "brightest and best" leaders figure out how to survive without ANY budget increase AS YOUR STAKEHOLDERS HAVE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS NOW! Rita, "JUST SAY NO" to a budget increase and have YOUR employees sacrifice for a change....as actives and retirees have for years now!