Dean Dennis to STRS board re: the Attorney General's charges against two board members without talking to them: Where is the evidence? Where is the due process? And does anyone in Ohio think it is fair that you have to run back to the AG who charged you for approval to decide who can defend you?

Dean Dennis' speech to STRS board

August 15, 2024

To our board members, stand firm; members support you. 

To STRS employees, remember you serve at the will of our board.

August 2024 - Dean Dennis, 35 years Cincinnati Public, ORTA Executive Committee Chair, STRS Ohio Watchdogs Administrator, and Ohio STRS MOF member.

I want to thank our Board for their service during these rough times. As everyone knows, the 14-page STRS staff letter to the Governor's office has created almost impossible conditions for our Trustees to perform their fiduciary duties. Has the press asked our acting ED if she was party to this letter, which triggered the AG to charge two of our board members without talking to them? Where is the evidence?  Where is the due process? And does anyone in Ohio think it is fair that you have to run back to the AG who charged you for approval to decide who can defend you?  

A few months back, our members publicly witnessed our board members negotiating performance bonuses with a member of the AG Office. Understandably, not many members were sympathetic to senior management's comments that their employees relied on these bonuses. This incident only served to highlight how disconnected they continue to be. In the STRS staff 14-page letter to the governor, STRS staff went so far as to label our active teachers' democratic election of their representative to the STRS board, with a majority of 85% to 15%, as a “hostile takeover.” They seem to think our pension system is their personal property.

The vote was a clear call for change: maintain the status quo or move towards reform. Members unequivocally sent a message that they desired reform: more transparency in how their money is allocated in investments and accountability in how much money has been wasted in fees.

To our board members, stand firm; members support you. To STRS employees, remember you serve at the will of our board.