Suzanne Laird delivers some words the STRS board and director needed to hear

Suzanne Laird's speech to STRS board

May 20, 2026

"Beginning with the very first page, where it states, “this budget is to protect service continuity, institutional knowledge and operational resilience.” NOTHING about the members! Nothing about the fiduciary responsibility to our active and retired beneficiaries. Page after page of word salad: “budget bridge,” “major initiatives matrix” — sounds like a lazy student relying on ChatGPT."

Good Morning, Members of MY Board, and welcome to Joan Bellner:

You may start your timer now.

This document, the STRS budget for 2027, must not be adopted as proposed.

Beginning with the very first page, where it states, “this budget is to protect service continuity, institutional knowledge and operational resilience.” NOTHING about the members! Nothing about the fiduciary responsibility to our active and retired beneficiaries. Page after page of word salad: “budget bridge,” “major initiatives matrix” — sounds like a lazy student relying on ChatGPT.

But buried in the nonsense are the dirty little details: $150,000. for vehicles, a 25% increase in travel expenses, a two hundred percent increase in copy center equipment, bloated dental and life insurance benefits for staff and their families, and education assistance? If the staff are not already qualified for the job, they should not have been hired.

Which brings me to the small print on page 4, “continuity planning for 3 to 6 months.” What were you thinking? Even the guys at ORSC were flabbergasted at hiring full time employees to shadow current employees. I will not compare this to student teachers working beside current teachers, because, (a), student teachers are, unfortunately, unpaid; but (b), they have no experience. You claim to hire the best and brightest. Are they that inexperienced? You already have assistants to the assistant to the administrative assistant: why would they not be capable of acclimating new employees?

We spent big bucks paying the current Executive Director to shadow the previous one, yet the performance we all witnessed at last week’s ORSC presentation was a debacle, and proves that no amount of shadowing can replace doing your homework.

This document is a pathetic attempt at institutional entitlement for the benefit of the employees, at the expense of our members’ hard-earned money.

As Cathy Steinhauser would say, do your fiduciary duty! That duty is to the MEMBERS, first, last, and always.