NOTE: To find the most current posts, please scroll down to the two big red arrows. You can't miss them.

STRS Ohio Watchdogs: a public Facebook group you can join

STRS OHIO WATCHDOGS

by Cindy Murphy

STRS Ohio Watchdogs monitor the management and investment practices of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.

We advocate for prudent and transparent investments, the restoration of the COLA for retired teachers, and the rollback of additional years of service required for active teachers.

This site will provide you with information about the work that is being done by Ohio's active and retired teachers to preserve our retirement benefits. Check back often for updates.

Join our conversation on Facebook. You don't have to be a member of STRS Ohio to join. Everyone who is interested in learning more about the management and investment practices of STRS Ohio is welcome.

Use this link to join our pack on Facebook:.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ohiostrswatchdogs 

Have you joined the Ohio STRS Member Only Forum on Facebook?

If you are a member of STRS Ohio and have a Facebook account, you are eligible to join thousands of others who make up the Ohio STRS Member Only Forum. This is a closed group of retirees and actives who are advocating for the return of our COLA, which, as you no doubt know, your STRS Board SUSPENDED on April 20, 2017. Two of our members, Bob Buerkle and Dean Dennis, filed a class action lawsuit against STRS on May 23, 2019 suing for the reinstatement of our COLA. The text of the lawsuit can be found on this blog. You can go here to join the Forum and sign the petition, already signed by more than 20,000 people, for the return of our COLA: Ohio STRS Member Only Forum

Click image to enlarge

Angel of Grief

Garrison Keillor

Items of interest in the Archives: The 2013 STRS Board Election

Many people have been very interested in reading about the irregularities of the 2013 STRS board election. There are many posts related to this topic, beginning the first week of April 2013, after the ballots were mailed to retirees from STRS. You can find them by going to the Archives for this blog, over in the right sidebar, and clicking on dates beginning with April 7, 2013. Dennis Leone announced his candidacy for a retired seat in November, 2012. There is a lot of information about him in the Archives, beginning with November 12, 2012 posts. If you want to read only the best stuff about that infamous election of 2013, go over to the sidebar on the right of where you are now, which is the archives of previous articles on this blog. Scroll down to April 2013. That's where the "interesting" articles begin. You will see many, clear up to the middle of May 2013.5/28/13

.....so what REALLY happened in 2003 that touched off a firestorm at STRS that is still smoldering today? Read it here, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. (Hint: It ain't over yet!)

More here (Akron Beacon Journal, 2003)

A MUST READ: Dennis Leone Reform Initiatives as an STRS Board Member  Between 2005 and 2009

To find current, day-to-day posts -- pull your scroll bar down a ways, just below the big red arrows (you can't miss them). Thanks.

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Find your state representative and senator here.

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/

I know, it's weird.........

Many posts that appear "at the top" for a while are eventually moved down, where they can be found under their original posting dates. Also, if you are confused by the postdating, this is done to keep these posts up there; otherwise, they drift down when new posts are added. It's a "blog thing" which I have no other way to control. KB

Handy links: Contacts, information and more (short version)
This is an abbreviated version of the original 'Handy links' post. Click here to view a more complete list. (Some of it is old.)

STRS Board.....STRS website

Board calendar

E-mail contacts at STRS (old, but some may still work)

Map/directions to STRS, 275 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215

STRS "Membership Survey" (spoof)
State legislators.......State of Ohio website

Latest OEA salaries (2011) over 100K; USDL report

Rich DeColibus' PowerPoint presentation STRS' PBI Program; Does it work?: click December 21, 2008 (blog Archive) and scroll down to December 23 posts.

Charts: PBI (bonus) payments

Popular links; click, then scroll down: charts, graphs, investment staff, lists, spreadsheets

$TR$ Inve$tment $taff $$$ (old)

SPECIAL (must read):

Dennis Leone's INVESTIGATIVE REPORT on STRS: May 16, 2003...Who is Dennis Leone?........(PDF version)...More on Dennis Leone .......(PDF version)

Dennis Leone: "Catcher of Thieves"

Dennis Leone's STRS Report to ORTA, March 2007

Dennis Leone's Testimony at the Statehouse 9/5/12
The Plain Dealer article that started it all

Dennis Leone: Factors Driving STRS 30-Year Planning and Revenue Assumptions (with charts)

Historic PBI vote, January 16, 2009

Charts: PBI (bonus) payments

CURRENT POSTS BELOW

Karen Loeffler to STRS board: "... the primary obligation of the board and the STRS management must remain their fiduciary responsibility to provide benefits for the members. All else is secondary."

Karen Loeffler's speech to STRS board

April 16, 2026

STRS Board Meeting 04/16/2026

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. I’m fortunate that I can be here. That I’m healthy enough, and live close enough, that attending a board meeting simply costs me gas money, and my time. Not everyone has that opportunity, and I am grateful that I do. And so I feel an obligation to be here, to represent in some way, and advocate for, those retirees and active teachers who cannot be here, either physically or virtually.

There have been a lot of words used in board meetings and STRS publications. Words like investments, salary incentives, bonuses, stakeholders, profits and losses, and the oft-repeated ‘fiduciary”. But the word to which I have kept returning, as I contemplate the events of the past few years, is “trust”. According to Merriam-Webster, “Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. It acts as a confident hope or reliance on a person’s character or a system’s, often, it involves placing responsibility for safety/well-being in another's care. Legally, it is a fiduciary relationship managing assets for a beneficiary.”

Trust is, and must be, the cornerstone of what we do. As a school counselor, I had to create trust with my students, in order to be effective in working with them. I had to build trust with the staff, especially when I could not share everything I knew with them, due to confidentiality issues. The same issues extended to the administrators and parents, with whom I had to build that trusting relationship.

Building a trusting relationship takes a lot of effort and commitment, over time. But trust can be destroyed in a heartbeat, and, once lost, is difficult to repair. In my view, this is one of the most critical issues for me right now. I feel much trust has been lost. Some members don’t trust the management of STRS, some don’t trust board members, some actives don’t trust retirees and vice versa, and there is a significant lack of trust on the part of the members toward the legislature and the governor.

This, then, to me, is one of the most critical tasks facing us: the restoration of trust, which requires openness and transparency, and the willingness to truly listen to each other. But the primary obligation of the board and the STRS management must remain their fiduciary responsibility to provide benefits for the members. All else is secondary.

Suzanne Laird lays it to the STRS board: "This Board has a very serious problem. Mr. Saperstein was merely the messenger."

Suzanne Laird's speech to STRS board

April 16, 2026

Good Afternoon, Members of MY Board:

You may start your timer now.

Red flag.

Yesterday, I listened with interest as Mr. Saperstein patiently explained the results of the member survey to this Board.

Survey says: no one, active or retired, trusts or has confidence in STRS. Survey says: no one believes STRS manages expenses prudently.

Fiduciary, fiduciary, fiduciary (thanks, Cathy Steinhauser).

And yet, some Board members pushed back, asking if the comments were “cherry picked” or claiming “When I’m out in the field, I only get positive feedback.” We have to “educate them.” “The number one misunderstood issue is the PBI.”

How insulting! We understand all too well projecting 12 MILLION dollars in PBIs, while we get a 1.6 percent projected COLA. We understand hiring another communications person when we have demanded a freeze on hiring. We understand when you agreed yesterday to hand employees airline points for their own personal use, earned while on business trips for STRS. We understand someone blithely mentioning an 8 and a half percent INCREASE in the budget, but we just “can’t manage a 2 percent COLA” again this year.

Almost as insulting as last month, when guest speakers, Tweedledum and Tweedledee claimed vouchers are a “complicated” process we teachers, “who don’t work as many days as others,” can possibly understand.

We understand our pathetic COLA doesn’t stand a chance against last month’s 3.3% inflation. Or the cost of gas to drive here. We understand that, and yet are able to complete a survey about STRS while focusing only on STRS. It is arrogant to claim the survey takers were confused by other issues, and I thank the 3 of you who were honest enough to call out staff members on using the “misunderstood” terminology and admit that the fault, dear Brutus, lies within.

This Board has a very serious problem.

Mr. Saperstein was merely the messenger.

Don’t shoot us for speaking truth. 

Public notice for the April 2026 STRS board meeting

From STRS

April 8, 2026

The April 2026 STRS board meeting is scheduled for April 15 and 16. Public Participation is scheduled for Thursday, April 16.

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE
The State Teachers Retirement Board and Committee meetings currently scheduled at the STRS Ohio offices, 275 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, are as follows:

Wednesday, April 15, 2026
10:00 a.m. Disability Review Panel (Disability reviews will be conducted in Executive Session)
11:30 a.m. Investment Committee Meeting
1:00 p.m. Governance Committee Meeting
Followed by Human Resources Committee Meeting
3:00 p.m. Retirement Board Meeting

Those wishing to attend Wednesday’s committee meetings and retirement board meeting virtually may register using the link below:

https://strsoh-org.zoom.us/.../WN_S3U89QY6RZqbJcgk3kRfLg

Thursday, April 16, 2026
9:00 a.m. Retirement Board Meeting resumes

Those wishing to attend Thursday’s retirement board meeting virtually may register using the link below:

https://strsoh-org.zoom.us/.../WN_BQUbAF_gRPmVoUTN_kZkCQ

The Retirement Board meeting will come to order on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 and begin with Travel Policy Update, followed by Member/Retiree Survey, and Defined Contribution Plan Update. The meeting will resume on Thursday with a Report From the Finance Department, followed by public participation, 2027 Planning Discussion on Health Care Benefits & Budget, Executive Director’s Report, routine matters, old business, new business, and any other matters requiring attention.

Preliminary meeting materials will be available on the STRS Ohio website 48 hours before the meeting. Final meeting materials will be available approximately 30 minutes prior to the meeting.

[For further details, go to https://www.strsoh.org/about/board-meetings.html]

ORTA's letter to all Oohio legislators 4/3/2026

From the Desk of 500,000+ Ohio Teachers Writer: ORTA 

Apr 1. 2026, Updated: Apr 3

This letter was sent on March 30, 2026, to our Senators and Representatives in the Ohio General Assembly.

Dear Ohio Legislator,

In 1920, the Ohio General Assembly created the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) of Ohio. In 1947, the Ohio Retirement Teacher Association (ORTA) was founded to represent the interests of retired teachers at the General Assembly and with STRS. Ohio’s population is 11.7 million. STRS members (500,000) and their families make up nearly 10% of Ohio’s population.

In this election year, it is important that we share our concerns with you and that you respond to ORTA so we know you have received them. Hundreds of thousands of active and retired educator —and their families—are paying close attention to decisions impacting their retirement security.

Below is a brief list of concerns:

Retirees Are Falling Behind Without Inflation Protection

STRS members do not receive Social Security; our inflation protection is only provided by our STRS pension. Since 2017, STRS retirees have fallen 25% behind Ohio’s Social Security recipients. Retirees need inflation protection. Closely connected to the Social Security comparison, it is important to note that STRS beneficiaries pay Ohio income tax on the benefits they receive, while Social Security recipients do not pay Ohio income tax on those benefits.

Ohio Ranks Last in Supporting Its Teachers’ Pension

STRS actuaries depend on Employer Contributions and Employee Contributions, coupled with investment returns, to pay for benefits. Of all 50 states, Ohio has gone the longest without raising the Employer Contribution Rate (since July 1983). When comparing the average Employer Contribution Rate with other non-Social Security states, Ohio comes in at 14% compared to the aggregated average of 30%. Ohio’s Employer Contribution Rate is the lowest. Consultants have identified this as the primary reason Ohio’s retired teachers lack reliable inflation protection.

ED Choice Diverts Critical Funding from Public Education and STRS

ED Choice hurts the STRS pension system. Over the past three fiscal years, approximately $2.3 billion has been appropriated for vouchers to private and religious schools. These vouchers divert money away from public schools and the STRS pension system, further harming teachers when they retire. The primary beneficiaries of these dollars are families significantly above the poverty line.

Protect Educators’ Voice: Support HB 719

The budget bill passed in Ohio last July attempted to strip away the voice of Ohio’s educators. The amendment slipped into the budget bill at reconciliation would remove teachers from the STRS board. HB 719 is supported by advocates of public education across Ohio. ORTA urges you to support HB 719 (Hoops) and ensure educators continue to have a voice in their own retirement system.

Oppose Property Tax Elimination That Harms Schools

The proposed elimination of property tax in Ohio will reduce support for public schools, along with other essential government services. ORTA urges all elected officials to oppose this measure. ORTA members are seeking your support regarding the above concerns, which are under the control of Ohio legislators.

Stand With Ohio’s Educators

We encourage you to contact us directly by email to share your support for Ohio’s educators and retirees and the priorities outlined above. ORTA and its members are actively engaged and will be communicating with our statewide network as the upcoming election approaches.

You can email Robin Rayfield at rrayfield@orta.org or call 614-431-7002 to discuss these issues further.

Your engagement on these matters will not go unnoticed by the educators and families across Ohio who are closely following decisions that impact their future. Thank you for your dedication to the well-being of Ohio’s teachers and for considering this significant opportunity.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robin Rayfield

Executive Director and Decades-Long School Administrator