Wade Steen fights back with Complaint with jury demand filed 10/24/2024; Plaintiff: Wade Steen; Defendants: Brent Bishop and Brian Perera

 

James Carr: 'In a perfect world.....'

By James Carr

October 25, 2024

In a perfect world, STRS employees would be motivated to serve teachers as their top priority.

Obviously, we have to live in the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. OEA sold us out; the politicians let us down; the STRS employees have wasted our money. What have I learned? That I would never pay a penny in OEA dues again. That I will never again vote for any state politician who will not acknowledge their commitment to the financial well-being of teachers. That every senior administrative member of STRS needs to be replaced.

I've learned that supporting people who don't support us is not only foolish, it's outright stupid. As a group, teachers are very nice people. but when I remember the best teachers I ever had, they shared one thing in common. They wouldn't accept lame excuses. They expected and demanded results. Any time someone wants our support, we need to demand results.

October 2024 Newsletter from ORTA

ORTA Newsletter

October 2024 

From Executive Director Robin Rayfield

Greetings ORTA Members!

 

This month’s newsletter is slightly delayed as we wanted to include any news from the October STRS Board meeting.

 

STRS Update

Significant change is always chaotic. STRS has operated for decades in a fashion that has benefited the staff at STRS and, for the most part, ignored the members of STRS. Changing the culture towards protecting the membership has created chaos for the system. The politicians in Ohio point to ‘red flags’ increase the anxiety level about the pension system. The members of STRS (active and retirees) have demanded change in the way STRS operates. This is evidenced by the elections for seats on the STRS board. Despite calls from the membership for reform, the management at STRS has barreled down the pathway of overcompensating the STRS employees while reducing benefits to retirees and forcing actives to pay more and work longer. At the September STRS meeting one of the presentations included information on the lost purchasing power of STRS retirees. The data show that a person who retired in 2013 has lost 21% of their purchasing power since their retirement. Certainly, such a loss is nearly impossible to manage, however, when we consider that the salaries of STRS employees increased by 17% on average in one year, retirees are understandably outraged. This is truly a situation where the ‘Good for thee but not for me’ principal has surfaced. The STRS board has challenged the management decisions at STRS with increasing strength over the last several months. In fact, without the intervention of Ohio’s Attorney General Yost, the PBI (bonus) program would have been eliminated for the past year.

 

Additionally, the STRS board voted on a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the senior management team in September. Although the motion failed by a 5 to 5 vote with 1 abstention the message was clear. The senior management team did not have the support of the board at STRS. This prompted the acting executive director to announce her retirement. Ms. Hoover will leave STRS on December 1, 2024. Her departure, along with the negotiated departure of Executive Director Bill Neville leaves a void at the top of the STRS management team. STRS is beginning the search for a new Executive Director, and hopefully a new direction for the pension system. What is important to note is that the leadership team in place demonstrated that they were not capable of reforming the system. Decades of thwarting any efforts of reforming the system had broken the trust between the membership and the pension system. The STRS board was put in place by the membership and reflects the will of the membership for reform. Therefore, change was necessary. In other STRS leadership news, the Chief Investment Officer, Matt Worley, announced his retirement scheduled for March of 2025.

 

Politicians and media type people love to hype the narrative that the reform board members have created chaos at the STRS pension system. In the sense that chaos always accompanies real change this is a true statement. Most of us recall the 1960s as a time of change and we recall the chaos that accompanied the changes as a result of the civil rights movement. As educators we probably all used first-hand experiences to reinforce our lessons. Imagine where we might be if people didn’t stand up for a set of principles and endure the chaos that the changes of the civil rights movement triggered. ORTA is proud that we have established a foundation for change at STRS and that the decades upon decades of paying unearned bonuses, with zero accountability for investment staff or management staff can come to a close.

 

In other STRS news, Wade Steen’s term as a STRS board member has ended. STRS members are grateful for Wade’s efforts to reform the system. Jonathon A. Allison was appointed by Governor DeWine to replace Wade Steen. We have no idea about where Mr. Allison stands on the many issues that face STRS, but we are hopeful that he can work with the board to resolve the differences between the status quo board members and the reformers. We will report on Mr. Allison’s actions as an STRS board member.

 

In addition to Mr. Allison, another new person was appointed to the board. This change was made by Director of Workforce Development Steven Dackin and was the seat formerly appointed by the Superintendent of Ohio Schools. Caroline Everidge-Frey replaced Dr. Scott Hunt. ORTA welcomes these people to the STRS board and thanks them for their willingness to serve.

 

At the October 17, 2024, STRS board meeting the board passed a ‘one-time supplemental benefit enhancement’. This is a one-time payment that will be made in December of 2024 going to all retirees for this year only. The decision on COLA for the year has not been made; however, it is unlikely that retirees will receive this supplemental payment and a COLA this year.

 

There will be information coming from STRS on the amount of each person’s supplemental benefit. The formula takes into account years of service and the number of years a person has been retired. ORTA has always voiced preference for a COLA that would be a recurring payment each year instead of a one-time check such as this. While our preference is for a COLA, the supplemental check idea was supported by the board. Board members also voiced hope that the years of service for full retirement benefits can be reduced this year. The board worked very hard to develop a plan that provides some level of inflation protection for the current year while trying to reduce the burden on active educators. ORTA is appreciative of their efforts!

 

ORTA Board Meeting

In addition to the STRS meeting, the ORTA board met last week to review finances and approve the budget for 2025. ORTA remains in good financial shape. The pension defense fund expenditures were covered in detail. We plan to post these documents on the ORTA website.

Robin Rayfield, Executive Director ORTA/Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association

Message from Dean Dennis

From Dean Dennis, Chair

ORTA Executive Council

From ORTA Newsletter

October 22, 2024

Greetings ORTA Members!

To clarify any possible confusion, the ORTA leadership has eliminated the positions of President, President-Elect, and Past President. These three “president” positions comprise ORTA’s Executive Council, which includes Chris DeMarco, Stephen Seagrave, and myself.

​

ORTA held one of our biannual ORTA Board Council meetings this past week.  One meeting is held in the Spring and one in the Fall. The ORTA Statewide Board consists of the three Executive Council Members, the Executive Director (a non-voting position), and one representative from ORTA’s five regions; this gives the ORTA Statewide Leadership Board a total of eight voting members. The five ORTA regions are Central Ohio, Northwest Ohio, Northeast Ohio, Southwest Ohio, and Southeast Ohio. While the State Board meets biannually, the ORTA Executive Council meets monthly.

​To complete the ORTA leadership structure, the organization also has the following essential committees that shape its direction: the Nominating and Endorsement Committee, the Finance Committee, the Legislative Committee, the Technology-Public Relationship-Communication Committee, and the Membership Committee. If any members are interested in serving on these committees, please get in touch with the ORTA Office, and I will contact you.

​

I’m delighted to share that our Fall meeting was incredibly productive. Our state committee members raised some important questions about how ORTA is being portrayed in the news. While some reports are accurate, others require our attention. We are confident in our ability to address these issues and move forward, which should give you all a sense of optimism and reassurance.

In May, the Ohio Attorney General reacted months ago to an “anonymous” letter that the press reported was hand-delivered by STRS staff to the Governor’s office. The letter was delivered on a Thursday; by the following Tuesday, the AG had filed a lawsuit against two STRS Board members, implying they might have been advocating for a small company, QED, for personal gains.  As of this writing, none of the innuendos in the letter have been proven. In a quirk in Ohio law, the Board members (at the time of the filing) Wade Steen and Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum, under Ohio law, were told they had to seek their defense counsel through the AG’s office. The very office that filed the charges. 

​

ORTA has been steadfast in supporting our members through the ORTA Defense Fund. When Wade Steen was illegally removed from his appointed Board position, we stood by him, and he prevailed. When the AG filed suit in May, ORTA once again stepped up to support Wade Steen and our endorsed candidate, Dr. Fichtenbaum, against what we believe to be a fishing expedition propagated by STRS management. This fund is a testament to our commitment to our members' well-being and security. 

​

Because of ORTA’s unwavering commitment to our mission statement, which states that ORTA advocates for the pensions and benefits of Ohio's active and retired educators and demands accountability from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, we cannot roll over and let STRS management work against the board members our organization has endorsed.  ORTA is seeking transparency in investments and fees. This threatens STRS management because their fees and private equity investments are not transparent. This implies that there needs to be a change in the management at STRS. This is likely why the current acting Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer have submitted their resignations at STRS. Our commitment to our mission is stronger than ever, and we will continue to fight for transparency and accountability. 

ORTA is on the right track.Through ORTA’s advocacy and coalition building, we have endorsed and played a part in electing strong STRS board members, which has paid off recently. While ORTA strongly opposes going back to a 13th check model, our current Board members know that retirees are deeply impacted by out-of-control inflation. Recently passed was a motion that will deliver some inflation relief to retirees. All retirees who have been retired for one year will be eligible. Here is the formula: add the number of years you contributed to STRS plus the number of years you have been retired, and next multiply that sum by $40. This is the amount you will receive this December on a separate check from your pension check. So, if you contributed to STRS for 30 years and have been retired for 10 years, the math will be 40 units times $40 for $1,600. In addition to the check, retirees will receive, our STRS board is looking to reduce the number of years actives have to serve down to 33 from 34. There hasn’t been a formal motion or vote, but it is being discussed. 

​

Lastly, I want to thank Cindy Murphy, our Technology/PR/Communications Chair, and Brian Miller, our Communication and Marketing Consultant. ORTA's website and publications have given ORTA a strong advocacy voice. Retired teachers, active teachers, the media, and legislators have noticed. One such active group of teachers that has taken notice and joined ORTA in mass is the Springfield Local School District in Summit County.  A shout-out to Tina Hartong for her advocacy and a welcome to the 39 new ORTA members from Springfield.

Dean Dennis, Chair

ORTA Executive Council