Robin Rayfield: “With three new board members coming to the STRS board, retired teachers across Ohio are hopeful” Rayfield continued. “We’re hopeful that STRS will take the drastic steps needed to rebuild trust, bring needed transparency and deliver on the promise to provide a safe and secure retirement.”

From ORTA

Press Release

August 30, 2022

PUBLIC RECORDS SHOW RECENT STRS EMPLOYEE BONUSES AVERAGED

$105,000 PER EMPLOYEE

 State Teachers Retirement System awarded one employee a nearly $375,000 bonus while five other employees were awarded more than a quarter million dollars in bonuses

COLUMBUS, OH – After the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS) approved nearly $10 million in employee bonuses after losing $3 billion last year, public records obtained from STRS show that the average employee received a $105,000.00 bonus and six employees received bonuses of more than a quarter million dollars.

“The average high school teacher in Ohio only makes about $60,000,” Robin Rayfield, Executive Director of the Ohio Retired Teachers Association said. “To know that there are STRS employees who are getting bonuses five or six times more than an Ohio teacher makes in a year is insulting.”

The highest STRS bonus paid was $372,578.45 paid to the director of the western region. That employee also received a salary of $308,260 meaning that a single STRS employee was paid $680,838.45 or more than ten times what an average Ohio teacher makes.

Next month, ORTA-endorsed STRS board members who won election to the board in May will take office. Those newly elected members— Liz Jones, Julie Sellers and Steve Foreman—overwhelmingly defeated incumbents in May by advocating for serious reform at STRS.

“With three new board members coming to the STRS board, retired teachers across Ohio are hopeful” Rayfield continued. “We’re hopeful that STRS will take the drastic steps needed to rebuild trust, bring needed transparency and deliver on the promise to provide a safe and secure retirement.”