Wade Steen is still on the STRS board because this attempt to remove him is not legal

Statement from Robin Rayfield, Executive Director of Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association (ORTA)

May 6, 2023

Wade Steen is still on the STRS board because this attempt to remove him is not legal.  The applicable statute governing the STRS board makes clear that only a court can remove a STRS board member. It seems like the Governor’s staff made a mistake by plowing ahead after Wade refused to resign – a mistake teachers hope is quickly remedied. If this was not a mistake, then it was an illegal action that is not valid and should be challenged.

This attempt to manipulate the composition of the board, especially just hours before election results are announced for a contested board seat, only reinforces the broken trust that educators have with their pension system. To say this pours jet fuel on the fire is an understatement.  

I implore Governor DeWine to sit down with Wade Steen and the other five pro-reform members to hear firsthand why reform at STRS is so badly needed. Teachers are praying the Governor will respect the votes of Ohio teachers who have elected reform candidates to the STRS board for the past five elections. Wade Steen is part of the solution not the problem. He is exposing STRS mismanagement and fighting for more accountability while STRS pays contrived bonuses to state employees after they lost billions of dollars of teachers’ money.

As a reminder, Steen was twice appointed to the STRS Board. First by John Kasich in 2016 and then reappointed by Mike DeWine in 2020.