Steven Toole will be paid $405,000 annually as the incoming director of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, despite a divided board and impending legislative changes.
By Laura Bischoff
Columbus Dispatch
August 25, 2025
STRS director signs guaranteed contract amid board turbulence
Steven Toole will be paid $405,000 annually as the incoming director of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, despite a divided board and impending legislative changes.Toole's hiring is controversial, with only six of eleven board members supporting it and state lawmakers restructuring the board's control.The contract includes a severance clause granting Toole a year's salary if terminated without cause, raising concerns about financial prudence.
The new director of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio will be paid $405,000 a year and can collect a year's salary if the incoming new board decides to terminate his contract.
Steven Toole, who will oversee a $95 billion portfolio, is scheduled to start on July 14 but he's walking into the job on shaky ground.
Just six of the 11 board members wanted to hire Toole, and state lawmakers are revamping control of the STRS board. When the state budget bill takes effect in 90 days, the six who backed Toole will lose their majority hold of the board.
STRS Board Chairman Rudy Fichtenbaum, who voted to hire Toole, signed the new contract on June 26, even though some board members wanted to hold a special meeting to consider the changes made by lawmakers.
"The landscape changed. It was time to pause and reflect," said Alison Lanza Falls, who is the treasurer's appointee to the board.
Jon Allison, the governor's appointee, said Fichtenbaum ignored his request for a special meeting before executing the contract.
"Our (legal) counsel urged board discussion about potentially material unknowns and risks. That advice was ignored," Allison said. He added that teachers and retirees expect STRS board members to mind every penny.
Fichtenbaum did not return messages seeking comment.
In September 2024, the board voted to pay its executive director, Bill Neville, $1.65 million to leave. Neville had been an STRS employee for two decades.
Toole's contract includes $405,000 each year in base pay, plus $25,000 in additional deferred compensation, 30 vacation days per year and up to $20,000 for moving expenses.
Toole reported earning $24,000 from Principal and $100 from Home Depot last year. His personal investments are largely in index funds as well as some individual stocks and cryptocurrency, according to the statement.
Lawmakers remake STRS board in budget
In May, Gov. Mike DeWine, House Speaker Matt Huffman, Senate President Rob McColley and State Treasurer Robert Sprague signed a joint letter urging the STRS board to delay hiring a new executive director until June.
On June 25, lawmakers pulled the trigger to change the STRS board, which currently has four appointed financial experts, five teachers and two retirees.
Under the new setup, the 11-member board will consist of two teachers, one retiree, the chancellor of higher education, the director of the Department of Education and Workforce, and financial experts appointed by the governor, two appointees from the state treasurer, and three appointees by the Ohio House speaker and Senate president.
The board changes will be phased in by August 2028. In the interim years, the total board count will temporarily peak at 15.
Once fully phased in, teachers and retirees will hold three board seats, down from the current seven. Eight seats will be held by people appointed by elected officials. The appointees will serve at the pleasure of those who put them on the board, not for a fixed term.
Ohio House Finance Committee Chairman Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said widespread concern over how STRS is being run led to the changes. Over the past six years, the system has been roiled by anonymous memos, staff departures, board turnover, lawsuits and investigations.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@gannett.com and @lbischoff on X.
posted by Kathie Bracy at 7:22 PM
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