Cathy Steinhauser to STRS board: Practice what you preach and do what you’re told by the courts!! Compliancy shows your transparency to all.

Cathy Steinhauser's speech to STRS board

May 15, 2025

Cathy Steinhauser – 35 Yrs., satellite teacher of Family & Consumer Sciences through Pickaway/Ross CTC for Circleville City Schools.

Since August of 2021, I have been attending STRS Board meetings. I have been speaking during public participation since May 2022 for a total of 27 Board meetings to date. STRS has had 2 speakers in the last couple years to instruct the board members on FIDUCIARY protocol. I’ve reinforced that instruction through my speeches giving analogies to help understand what consequences have occurred when their fiduciary duty isn’t fulfilled. I’ve observed over 2 yrs. that STRS staff expects the Board to comply with all aspects that cover FIDUCIARY duty, yet they do not practice what they preach.

The recent unveiling of the STRS staff authors of the Anonymous Letter written in 2024 was not only unethical, deceitful, back stabbing and undermining the Board, but they should be fired immediately and the Bar Association should be informed of this incident. Our STRS attorneys lied to the governor in order to sabotage OUR Board. Board members involved with an innocent presentation of an investment opportunity which would yield a safer, steady return on our pension monies in the coming decades was quickly rejected within maybe 15 minutes or less.

In review of the video of said Board mtg…that was the end of discussion for those who opposed. I am appalled that STRS had its own attorneys act as phony “whistleblowers” to discredit the 2 Board members' approach that used Warren Buffet’s recommendation for pensions to invest in long term value, index stocks rather than private equity. It was also unprofessional of AG Yost to believe in this anonymous letter without doing a thorough investigation at the time. Instead, he chose to sue 2 of the most ethical, honest, professional men I have ever met and call their presentation a “hostile takeover”! Really?? That’s a pretty extreme call but when individuals feel threatened, they tend to react irrationally.

As for the special meeting that the ORSC conducted (on May 8) last week because of this anonymous letter incident and, like Yost, swoop in and save the day by sticking their nose in OUR pension and fix things that don’t need fixed. The ORSC should be more professional and investigate this beforehand. Hey, maybe even talk to the 2 Board members involved and have a meeting to discuss what happened. Yet they too jumped to a conclusion believing AG Yost along with media reporters who seemingly hate teachers trying to save their pension by electing board members that align with the pensioner’s ideals!

As a fiduciary, it is expected that every single person that works here from the regular staff to the investment staff have the teachers' best interests in mind AT. ALL. TIMES.!! Undermining pensioners is deceitful. “STRS exists to pay teachers”…remember that!

Lastly, Mr. Siedle was granted a writ of mandamus ordering STRS to comply with Siedle’s first request in Feb. 2021 and again in June 2021 letters. STRS is in violation of their own fiduciary duty to pensioners! Practice what you preach and do what you’re told by the courts!! Compliancy shows your transparency to all.