Molly Janczyk: STRS and Ethics

From Molly Janczyk, December 12, 2008
Subject: STRS & Ethics: My Opinion

I am gravely concerned and deeply disappointed in what I perceive as the continued loose ethical behavior at STRS. Dyer stated STRS money was his or theirs to do with what he wanted. He was forced to resign for such arrogant and defiant statements. Asbury had his own questionable ethics regarding various issues written about multiple times. But, STRS shareholders had high hopes for the new Exec. Director, Mike Nehf, who seemed aware and determined to make Ethics standards at STRS something that could be trusted.

Mike Nehf is said to have taken it upon himself to solely decide and gift the STRS staff with an additional day off: the Friday after Thanksgiving . This day is not a contractual day off and one would have to use their contracted vacation days to take it as vacation. But, Nehf felt the staff simply deserved to have this day without using contract days. A 'gift' from him to them.

Did Nehf pay for this gift? No, WE DID! It is STRS earnings on our contributions that once again gave STRS staff a perk not within the contract. Do we care if anyone else in the U.S. has done this? No. Perhaps, other systems give this day but are they at the expense of shareholders or contractual? Either way, who cares? It is OUR money and NOT Nehf's to spend as he wishes. The cost of this gift given by Nehf to the staff and paid for without our consent: $175,000.

Past attitudes would be to smirk and say: "We don't get it! It would not pay for health care anyway." We get that-obviously. Health care costs self insured STRS $1.5 Million per day. What THEY don't get is: If one can just simply decide to gift the staff with perks worth $175,000 for ONE DAY OFF, then it can just as easily gift needy retirees with $175,000 for meds, treatments, necessitites. STRS states this kind of thing keeps staff happy and they work so hard. Heard that before?

Well, I can tell you with assurance that 175 retirees earning less than they can survive on, would be VERY HAPPY to receive $1000 each! I have repeatedly asked for a charitable fund for needy retirees over and above the assistance program. Many, many retirees are having difficulty paying for groceries and meds and treatments and Dr. visits. They have cut meds, reduced or stopped meds and treatments and Dr. visits.

Mr. Nehf: How do you look them in the eye and tell them you gave our money to provide an extra non-contractual day off to make it nice for our employees? You email STRS rhetoric but it is becoming increasingly and uneasily apparent you share the arrogant and unfeeling lack of ethics your former Exec. Directors possessed.

Where exactly, in this time of crisis, do you think your staff will depart for to engage better employment? What staff, anyway, is not having to cut back and rethink bonus programs, benefits and extras of any kind during such a downturn? How on earth did you think this was OK-to give away $175,000 of your shareholder's money in a catastrophic financial crunch?

Where is OUR help to get through this? What have you done for US?

Educators are a modest group wanting only a secure retirement and health care. Giving away $175,000 here and there does add up and it JUST LOOKS BAD! Should I spend $1000 on something short term because it won't pay for the home I want anyway? If I keep doing that, I will never get there. It is only $6 Million, it is only $175,000, and so on. This is precisely what we experienced with Dyer and Asbury.

OEA diehards would say it is WE who draw attention to STRS behavior and thus hurt chances of passing HB315. I say WHY is STRS behaving in ways that need attention and THAT is what is hurting chances with HB315. THAT is why school boards say they mismanage money. IF STRS has money to do such things, how hard up are they? School boards are NOT listening. Slick Bill Leibensperger who was reimbursed $40,000+ for his expenses on top of a $150,000 salary and probably an educator salary as well, had the constant habit of smirking at us along with his equally slick wannabe's. They wanted us to help with HB315 -- which we unfailingly did. EVERY legislator possible was met with by CORE leaders. CORE solicited letters, emails, and calls on behalf of HB315. But, OEA has little use and leaves no doubt of its disdain for CORE when unwanted items are brought to shareholder attention.

QUESTION: WHERE IS OEA and OEA-R and ORTA when unethical behaviors are rumored or revealed at STRS? OEA did nothing in 2003 and they do nothing now expect to support STRS. ORTA and OEA should be holding STRS accountable and providing oversight on behalf of membership. Instead, they defended STRS even when undisputable evidence was provided. They fought those who blew the whistle on STRS and impugned their reputations hoping something would stick. Changes were forced due to media attention. Now, evidence again, that STRS is making its own decisions without contracts to support them.

I will tell you that all those organizations will breathe a sigh of relief on 9/01/2009 when Dennis Leone is no longer a STRS Board member. NO ONE will be there any longer to provide oversight on behalf of membership-OEA , OEA-r and ORTA call it micromanaging. No one will care nor find out about spending $175,000 of membership money for an extra day off cause the Exec. Direc. wants to gift staff rather than have them use their days properly. No one will mind the bonus figures or travel expenses. They will be blips in the budget all bunched together with no one to question what the figure includes. No one will delve into proper handling of sick and personal days or even care for that matter. Most will be lulled into complacency once again and simply want to be told all is ok.

Most retirees and actives only want to live their lives and not be bothered. And the status quo at STRS will once again reign supreme with no or little questioning. If any do bother, they will be pacified by STRS rhetoric, STRS legal advice and STRS 'experts' only speaking STRS bias. Board members will then feel they have done their fiduciary duty cause they asked a question. They will never go into the rank and file or delve into records or see red flags and go to the source as Leone does. STRS and OEA, OEA-R and ORTA have outweighted us. They are big and strong and have power and money to do as they wish. 9/01/09 will come soon enough for them and all will be well again for them on Broad St.

Ethics? Legal? Often two different areas and not necessarily having the same outcome. STRS walks the line most of the time to be legal. Who cares about ethics here and there? HB315? Sit in lawmakers seats and on school boards and look at figures. Watch STRS behavior and look at OPERS who operates with prudence and long term planning that is not reliant on in house or out of house or numbers of employees.

Lawmakers would be impressed if STRS took the lead by increasing the years for retirement to enforce the decrease in unfunded liability with working longer and withdrawing later, applying a percent of pension for health care premiums to help those with less and let those with more pay more, making 20 yrs. early retirement and only offering health care access to those with 15-19 years. All 6 or more years out from retiring. Lawmakers are looking at increased years for retirement already. If STRS took this lead and enforced some of these changes, lawmakers may look at HB315 more favorably since it was willing to make changes as well and not just ask for change. Yes, it is educator contribution increasing but more than that has to occur for legislators to approve HB315 as well as swaying school boards.

Many lawmakers look at the 35% rule and feel educators will have enough to pay their own way with pensions far superior to Soc. Sec. benefits. They fail to see those of us who had no opportunity to achieve the 35 yr rule retiring before it became available. Yes, we benefitted for the bill but with the cost of inflation and simple stagnant COLAS are now losing money every year whereas those who are seeking the 35 year rule continue to gain because of increasing salaries annually.

STRS needs to reconfigure the 35 yr. rule in light of its current retirees declining in benefits with inflation, overwhelming health care costs and stagnant COLAS while actives work towards an ever increasing salary range under which to retire.

Most of those areas can all be done without legislation and simply because STRS wants to truly distribute its assets fairly for all vs. just the active educators. Lawmakers would see STRS is working hard to realign for the betterment of total membership as well as to conserve and decrease its unfunded liability.

I continue to be dismayed by the retirement system who does not see ALL its faces or listen to their voices of true need. A system is only as strong as the weakest among it. Religion, morality, ethics- all speak to helping your brothers and sisters, your neighbors and friends. That, would , I think, include ALL our fellow educators-those who came before and grew the organizations and paved the way for today's educators. Current retirees fight for future retirees having paid an untenable cost trying to preserve health care for us and for them. Where are the active educators who fight for US????


Where is Mike Nehf leading a new more ethical STRS looking at every expense and asking himself: How would I address this issue with my membership? How would I answer needy retirees not just with standard rhetoric but with compassionate and earnest understanding of their crisis and fighting for improvement of their benefits - not simply my staff? Compromises can be made and better standards for all-membership foremost according to ORC:3307.15. Make it evident how you fight for your retirees, Mike! Who will question YOU when Leone is gone. Shouldn't YOU be questioning yourself? That is who we thought we hired.

**You will not be questioned by OEA, OEA-R or ORTA with any real in depth efforts. They will be happy with whatever STRS and OEA tells them.
There is no shortage of greed at STRS and no shortage of rationalization to support it by the Board. When one only listens to one side, one does not grow. When STRS only invites 'experts' who are going to strengthen their argument, nothing is gained. All sides should be heard, weighed and researched in depth.

Molly Janczyk
STRS Retiree

Dave Parshall: Rebuttal to OEA's slanderous comments about CORE

May 15, 2008
[The remarks to which Dave responds appeared in campaign material put out by OEA at the time of the 2008 STRS Board election which ended May 5. At least one school district was given the material to distribute to teachers; perhaps all were.]

1. "...[CORE], a group of retirees who continually attack OEA."

Sometimes the truth seems to be an attack. CORE will respond when we feel that OEA is not acting in the best interest of both active and retired teachers.

2. "...in fact CORE pushes views that too often run contrary to the interest of active teachers, such as eliminating the 35-year retirement benefit."

The real fact is that CORE has never suggested that the 35-year benefit be repealed. What is true is that this needs to be further studied because it was based on actuarial assumptions that have been proven to be untrue. It is also true that while lobbying for HB 315, CORE found that a number of the members of the House brought it up and referred to it as "enhanced benefits," stating or implying that they could not sell HB 315 to their constituents who will never have such lavish pensions. We now have a two tier retirement system with those who have very good pensions while 36,000 retirees with 30 years or more of service earn $30,000 or less and many earn $20,000 or less. Even knowing all this, CORE has not called for the repeal of the 35-year enhancement. We are the only ones speaking for those who have no voice.

3. "Some in CORE claim that electing an OEA member would give OEA control of the STRS Board."

This also is not true. CORE knows full well this current election would not give OEA control of the Board. But we also know that this is the long term goal of OEA. It was in the past.

4. "More importantly, Board members serve as individuals and have a fiduciary responsibility to represent all members of the system, not just one organization."

It is great to hear OEA state this. If they had only followed this in the past, there would have been no need for Dennis Leone's landmark report exposing the many problems at STRS by an OEA-dominated rubber stamp board. If you don't know or learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it. CORE hopes to prevent this. The sad reality is there should be no need for CORE. OEA and ORTA let us all down in the past. We hope they have learned from this because CORE sure has.

5. "CORE's attacks on OEA are viscous [sic; 'vicious' intended?], unfounded and irrational. They seem to blame every problem -- from the rising cost of health care (a national crisis) to downturn in the economy -- on the union."

Once again the truth can seem like attacks when you don't want to hear it. Many of our CORE members helped build OEA across the state in the 60s and 70s and beyond. We fought the hard battles of representation and unification with NEA and were some of the first negotiators trained by OEA. We preceded even the Uni-Serv Unit movement. Many of us served as presidents and officers of our locals for years. We were just shocked at what we discovered about OEA and the problems we found at STRS after retirement and the lies we were told. Have you forgotten Herb Dyer? Actives, wake up! All educators, actives and retirees, need to stand together.

About the current health care crisis, OEA has never answered the question about why they opposed the legislation that the legislature porposed to fix the STRS healthcarre problem back in 1992. They chose to push it off to the future. Why? Now look at the mess we are facing. STRS retirees don't have time to wait for national single payer plan. This could take ten years, even if we can change Washington in '08. Finally, many of our members are still life members of OEA and ORTA. We support many of the causes that OEA fights for Ohio educators. We would love to get back to our "golden years" and tell you that everything is fine, but sadly, at this point we can't. Many of us are too busy cutting pills to save money.
Dave Parshall, President
Concerned Ohio Retired Educators (CORE)

SB 264 (teachers' right to strike) and educating an educator re: STRS and CORE

Kathie Bracy to Phil Hayes, February 5, 2008
Subj: Good session in the Hearing Room today

Hi Phil --

It was really good to meet you and Greg [Goodlander] today. Between the echoing acoustics and my bad hearing, I couldn't hear everything you said in your testimony, but what I did hear sounded like you were presenting a strong case for retaining teachers' right to strike. What clout do teachers have, ultimately, if they can't hold that over the heads of administration at the bargaining table? It's hard for me to fathom that legislators think they can legislate away what I consider a basic right. The legislature is definitely NOT teacher-friendly these days, particularly in regard to the public schools. They would love to break up the unions, destroy the public schools and get their hands on our pension fund. We are constantly fighting them.

HB 315 is our big issue right now, as it would preserve healthcare mainly for those of you who haven't retired yet by providing a dedicated revenue stream to keep our HC from disappearing altogether. Unless this bill is passed or some other solution comes along, our healthcare fund will start eating at the principle in 2009, and in a few years it won't be there at all for any of us. Not much for you active teachers to look forward to. Difficult for school boards to do their share of the funding, but disastrous if something isn't done.

Mary Ellen Angeletti, who was with me today, is vice president of CORE (Concerned Ohio Retired Educators), our grassroots organization of retired and active educators that is working for reform at STRS. She does want to be on your mailing list.

I am pasting below several posts from my blog in the last few days, where some of us wrote responses to a person from STRS (an anonymous writer, possibly a spouse of someone who works at STRS) which sum up our history in a nutshell, and which will also help you understand the need for reform at STRS and the rift between our organization and OEA. There is a search engine on my blog; if you use keywords such as "Frost-Brooks," "Leibensperger" and [xxx] or pull up posts added after the 12/13/07 STRS Board meeting, you will get some recent insights. We would like very much to work with OEA (most of us are life members of OEA, ORTA, etc.), but so far such attempts have not been fruitful.

Sorry this is so long -- I know you don't have a lot of time to read it, but there are things that the active teachers need to know. We are well aware they are overwhelmed with NCLB and don't have the time to become informed on what's really going on at STRS, or how seriously their lives will be impacted by what is happening there. We also don't have the resources to really get the word out to them. If you do nothing else but put this aside to read another time, I think you will find it worth your while.

Thank you for all the tireless work you do for students and teachers. Keep it up, especially your legislative involvement. Good luck with this bill; I'll be eager to hear how it comes out. Again, if we can do anything to help with this or any other cause that will help teachers, kids or the public schools, please feel free to ask.

Kathie Bracy
http://kathiebracy.blogspot.com/

Phil Hayes is a high school social studies teacher in the Columbus City Schools, an active member of the Columbus Education Association and editor/publisher of The CEA Blog. On February 5, 2008, he presented testimony before the Ohio Senate Education Committee in opposition to SB 264, which would strip teachers of their right to strike. He made reference to the last strike the CEA was involved in, the strike of 1975. Mary Ellen Angeletti and I both walked the line that year. KBB