Robin Beebe to STRS board: "According to the current Executive Director, "Our books are open. When you're running a state pension plan, your books are always open. We have nothing to hide." Well, two sets of books, per the Mendenhall report, seem to refute that. It is unethical at best, and at worst? You be the judge. "Something is rotten in Denmark...."

Robin Beebe's comments to STRS board

August 18, 2026

My name is Robin Beebe. Retired Master's Degree Teacher of mainly 4th Graders, 2nd Graders, Kindergarteners, a smattering of other elementary grades and eight summers of Migrant Education. 35 years. Fremont City Schools and Perrysburg Schools. Retired 17 years. Denied my full 3% COLA's. Denied approximately $136,000+ and counting.

     Well, it's August - PBI/Bonus Month. I would be remiss not to mention the Mendenhall & Sutter "Retirement At Risk" report. Basically, STRS has had two sets of books, one of which overstated the investment returns by $9 Billion over 2 decades resulting in the inflated Bonus/PBI SCHEME. You can try to put all the spin on this report you want. But this report is out there. It will not go away. The PBI's should be halted until this all gets rectified. A GIPS  verification based on "STRS SUPPLIED DATA" is not an audit. It is not an audit by a CPA. And there is no Fiduciary Duty to pay bonuses to Investment Staff.

     According to the current Executive Director, "Our books are open. When you're running a state pension plan, your books are always open. We have nothing to hide." Well, two sets of books, per the Mendenhall report, seem to refute that. It is unethical at best, and at worst? You be the judge. "Something is rotten in Denmark...."
     So...you've all heard the expression, "It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature". (Put on flower crown.) Well, it's not nice to FOOL active and retired Ohio teachers!!!
     So, here is an idea. And, no fooling, I am not an Investment Blue Suit. But here is one possible way forward. I get a publication called Bottom Line Personal which is a $39/year subscription. From the July 2026 issue, I want to share just a few Exchange Traded Fund suggestions. These are diversified and have minimal fees and a very lucrative and profitable track record. #1: Tech Stock ETF - Invesco QQQM with a 0.15% expense ratio and a five year performance of 17.82%.  #2: S&P 500 ETF SPDR Portfolio (SPYM) passively tracks performance of 500 of the largest US companies with an annual expense ratio of 0.02% and performance of 15.76%.  #3: US Large Cap ETF called Fundstrat Granny Shots (GRNY) with a 0.75% expense ratio and one year performance of 31.3%. With ETF's you won't need an Investment Staff of 110+. You won't need to award millions and millions of PBI dollars. 
     So, I repeat, "It isn't nice to Fool active and retired teachers. I wish there was a way forward for honest and good things to happen. Hmmm... if I only had a magic wand to make wishes come true.... (Wave and sound wand.)