Gov. Mike DeWine replaces member of teacher pension board

From NBC4i.com

By Colleen Marshall, Orri Benatar, Maeve Walsh
May 6, 2023

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A man who sits on the board for the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) was asked by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to step down.

In an email obtained by NBC4, STRS board member Wade Steen indicated that the governor’s office had requested he step down. Steen was appointed to the STRS board by then governor John Kasich in 2016 and his term extends through Sept. 2024, according to the STRS website.

On Friday, Gov. DeWine released a list of recent appointees and among them was Dublin’s G. Brent Bishop as a new board member for STRS. Bishop’s term began on Friday, per the governor’s office, indicating that Steen is already off the board.

“Mr. Steen served at the pleasure of the governor,” said the governor’s spokesman Dan Tierney to NBC4’s Colleen Marshall. “The governor made it clear he needed someone to represent full-time the needs of teachers on the board.”

Steen claimed to the governor’s office they do not have the authority to revoke his board membership, according to the email NBC4 obtained. Sources within a group of retirees who have opposed recent actions of the board told NBC4 that Wade Steen was forced off the board when Gov. DeWine realized that the balance of power would tip.

TRS just completed an election on Saturday for a new member of the retirement board which saw Pat Davidson defeat Arthur Lard by 12,000 votes to occupy an open seat. Davidson is scheduled to begin his term on the board in September.

Managers of Ohio’s $90 billion public teacher pension fund are considering a larger round of bonuses for its investment staff despite retired educators’ concerns. At a monthly meeting in April,presented to its 11-member board a proposal to set aside $11.1 million of its $115 million budget in 2024 for performance-based bonuses for its investment staff.

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