Suzanne Laird at STRS Board meeting: words of advice to the new Board member

Suzanne Laird's speech at STRS Board meeting

September 20, 2024

Good Morning, Members of MY Board:

I would like to welcome our newest member and wish him the very best of luck. You will need it.

Do not look to the Interim Director to set the example: she’s drawing such an exorbitant salary she cannot see her way to do her fiduciary duty to the members. Her predecessor sits at home, continuing months of paid time-out. Their combined salaries could return a sorely -needed million back to our coffers.

Speaking of millions, I sure you’ve heard about our over-paid, underperforming investment staff. It takes many finance geniuses to lose money in a 10 year bull market, including this week’s record gains. But Member Benefits will continue to hire, instead of cut or consolidate positions, and smile and tell you everything is wonderful because their surveys say so!

Question everything.

Question why the finance department insists on investing in failing real estate deals and alternative investments with ties to political contributions. The political contributions that benefit the very government employees sworn to protect the pensions of Ohio via the ORSC. You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of that entity, since they rarely bother to meet, and when they do, they spend time pitting active teachers against retirees, calling it “intergenerational equity.”

Your fellow Board members can bring you up to speed: but choose carefully — one is an appointee from the Treasurer’s office, but has never heard of Nvidia, the most aggressively traded stock in the last 9 months, another lacks basic manners, yelling, “Aww, hell no!” when voting, and a third wishes to spend 99 thousand dollars on a “listening” task force. This is the same appointee who ignores the public participation portion of every Board meeting.

But you came on a perfect day. Watch and learn from one of the best. You’ll have to learn quickly— today, and today only — you’ll get a crash course on what an inquisitive, incisive member of this Board can do when priorities are aligned with integrity.

Welcome and good luck.