Karen Loeffler's speech to STRS board 9/18/2025

STRS Board Meeting 09/18/2025

My name is Karen Loeffler. I retired in July 2012 from Pickerington Local School District, with 30 years experience as a high school classroom teacher and as a middle school counselor. I also spent countless hours as a volunteer in Pickerington, in a variety of capacities.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires, and demands, an educated populace, one that is engaged and participatory. As educators, at any grade level, from kindergarten through high school, and beyond, we teach, beyond letters and colors, beyond numbers and shapes, critical thinking and processing skills. Beyond content, we teach not what to think, but how to think. Not just how to recognize problems, but how to brainstorm possible solutions, and work with others on choosing and then implementing solutions. We also teach our students that failure is not the end of a process, but part of the learning process. What went wrong? What could we have done differently? What are the next steps? Giving up, quitting, are not options. Instead, we  continue on.

This, then, applies to our own experience, here, in this board room. Some of us are physically present, many participate virtually, and many more by following through various forms of media and communication. But the common thread is that we are engaged in the process. We are not disinterested observers. We have worked hard to immerse ourselves in the process, and supported, through our votes, board candidates who we felt would be good representatives, and take their fiduciary responsibilities seriously, with fidelity and integrity. We don’t ask for perfection, but commitment to the best interests of the members.

And now, the legislature, with the support of the governor, has ripped away, indeed stolen, our voting rights. We will now be ruled by political appointees, in control of the board. For those who might think that these appointees will operate in our best interests, adhering to the same fiduciary duties as our duly elected board members, I would like you to recall an incident from last summer. In July, 2024, at a special board meeting, there was a discussion about whether or not to award the usual staff bonuses. Many opposed the awarding of bonuses in light of the continuing lack of COLA’s for the members. An attorney at the board table, a political appointee, informed the board members that if they did not award the bonuses to the investment staff, they would be violating their fiduciary duty to said staff. So, you will forgive my skepticism, and the skepticism of many of my colleagues, in regard to the supposed commitment of the appointees to their fiduciary duties to the members of STRS. They need to be reminded, in the strongest possible terms, that STRS is the State TEACHERS Retirement System, that exists for the benefit of the members. And this fight is not yet over!