Governor Mike DeWine switches up teacher pension board appointee before key election

From STRS Ohio Watchdogs 

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday replaced Wade Steen on the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio with real estate investor G. Brent Bishop.

The governor's office said Steen was informed that DeWine needs an appointee on the pension board who can dedicate the necessary time and attention to the task.

The move came the day before votes would be tallied and announced for another seat on the 11-member board, which oversees $95 billion invested for 500,000 teachers and retirees.

Berea teacher Pat Davidson is challenging incumbent board member Arthur Lard, a Portsmouth teacher.

Voting began in early April and results are expected to be announced Saturday.

The STRS Ohio board has faced infighting and turmoil over the past few years. Retirees are angry over the elimination of cost-of-living allowances, a perceived lack of transparency and the payment of bonuses to pension investment staff.

Those retirees, who are active in Ohio Retired Teachers Association and STRS Watchdogs, have the ear of a growing faction on the board. They've called for a change in the pension leadership and expressed interest in an unproven investment strategy pitched by a start-up company. Steen had expressed support for the start-up company and its approach.

The discontent has been building for a decade. In 2012, legislators approved a pension reform package that required public employees to work longer for fewer benefits. Starting in

2013, STRS retirees received lower cost-of-living allowances. Then in 2017, the cost-of-living allowances stopped.

The cuts were made to help shore up the pension fund. A one-time cost-of-living allowance of 3% was restored beginning in July 2022, but it's still not back to what retirees want.

In February, the board deadlocked 5-5 over a no-confidence vote in STRS Ohio Executive Director Bill Neville.

And in April, as STRS members began voting in the board election, a new group - Save Ohio STRS - sent mailers to pension fund members urging them to vote for Davidson over Lard. It is unclear who is funding the group.

Bishop, of suburban Columbus, has experience in insurance, securities, software and real estate investments. He also worked as a page in the Ohio General Assembly more than 50 years ago as a college student.

Laura A. Bischoff

The Columbus Dispatch

The STRS Ohio Watchdogs is a grassroots organization of teachers in Ohio advocating for prudent and transparent management of STRS Ohio.