Suzanne Laird to STRS board: "...every time a bell rings, it should NOT mean a retired angel-teacher dies without a COLA."

Suzanne Laird's speech to the STRS board December 12, 2024

Good Morning, Members of MY Board,

And welcome to our newest Executive Director.

Our wish for this holiday season is that you have a wise man’s ability to discern naughty from nice, AND the fortitude to slice through the ………..fatted goose.

With only 3 minutes, I have no time to sugar-coat it: we, who have attended these meetings for 10, 15, or 20 years have a long wish list, and we are putting you at the top. We wish for someone who is not afraid to make the difficult decisions necessary to completely revamp our pension and restore the very reason it exists: to pay benefits to those who have given their lives to the students of Ohio. We wish for an end to the fiduciary fraud perpetrated upon the educators of Ohio: the lack of transparency, the lack of accountability, the contemptible waste of our hard-earned money.

Our wish list:

•  An immediate freeze on all new hires.

•  Cut existing staff by 20 percent, especially an investment team that cannot turn a profit during a 10-year bull market.

•  Rent out all the unused office space. Consolidate the staff to three floors. Close all satellite offices.

•  Eliminate the employee educational stipend. Ohio teachers must pay out of pocket; so must these employees.

•  Charge for parking, fitness, and make the cafeteria profitable or close it.

•  Cut the bonuses.

Now, the staff will tell you that cutting the bonuses will not restore the COLA, but don’t you believe them: 10 years of bonuses in the 5 million dollar range is more than a little “stocking stuffer” and we retirees are suffering this Christmas, even with a supplemental-white- elephant-one time check.

Are you a quick learner? Think of it as setting up the next Executive Director for success in the new year. Ring in the new year with an austerity policy similar to that WE have all had to implement in our lives.

Because every time a bell rings, it should NOT mean a retired angel-teacher dies without a COLA.