Dean Dennis questions the STRS Board about the anonymous, condescending, inflammatory and unprofessional 14-page document delivered to the governor's office

Dean Dennis' presentation to the STRS Board

May 16, 2024

Dean Dennis 35 years Cincinnati Public, President of ORTA, Administrator in STRS Ohio Watchdogs, and Ohio STRS MOF member.

Last week the Columbus Dispatch reported that an STRS staff member delivered a 14-page anonymous document to Governor DeWine’s office. This is the second time in 2 years Governor DeWine’s office has been approached. Coincidentally both times were when a “reform” minded candidate won a Board seat by a large margin. Both times, the individual or individuals remained anonymous.

This time there was a discernible difference. The first time, our then-executive director acted like he was caught off guard and pleaded ignorance. This time, an STRS member delivered the 14-page “anonymous document” to the Governor’s office.

The questions are: Who wrote the document? Who knew it was going to be delivered to the Governor’s office? Who crafted the contents of the document?

The questions I am presenting to the Board are these, did staff bypass our current executive director? If so, what action is being taken? How can she continue as executive director if she wasn’t bypassed and approved of the document?

The document was condescending (teachers who vote are not stupid). The document was also inflammatory and full of unprofessional innuendos (our elected members aren’t on the take). The individual(s) who wrote this document and then ran to the Governor must be shown the door. They regard us as hostile and we cannot trust them to work on our behalf.