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.

............................................................................................

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

What is a Collateralized Loan Obligation?

by

Rudy Fichtenbaum

March 23, 2026

At the last Board meeting, during the investment seminar there was a discussion of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) as part of the presentation on Liquid Alternatives. Any CLO involves leverage i.e., borrowing, and then securitizing, i.e., bundling the loans together so they can be sold as a security. In most cases, the underlying loans that are being securitized are B2 or B3, which are speculative and have high credit risk, i.e., there is a substantial risk of default. How risky is the underlying debt? The loans that are generally used in CLOs with a B2 or B3 rating -- 4th or 5th from the boPom on the 20-point scale used by Moody’s with AAA at the top and Ca at the boPom. CLOs are considered structured debt to support leveraged buyouts (private equity) or to finance infrastructure projects using non-recourse loans. Non-recourse loans are secured by pledged collateral. Thus, other assets of the borrower are protected from seizure if the borrower defaults. Companies that are building big data centers provide a prime example; they establish special purpose vehicles (SPVs) so that when they borrow, they can protect all of their other assets, using the assets of the data center, which don’t really exist until it is built, as collateral to borrow money. This makes them different from a regular construction loan, which is generally a recourse loan, meaning the lender can pursue all assets of the borrower if the project defaults.

So why would a pension be involved with a CLO? The simple answer is this: since the underlying loans are riskier, they pay higher interest and, in a market where returns for equities over the next 10 years are expected to be lower than they have been over the previous 10 years CLOs are sold as a way of getting a higher return with the illusion of not taking on additional risk.

All securitized debt is divided into different types of shares known as tranches. There is a senior tranche which is the least risky, because they get paid first, but they also receive a lower share of the interest payments and hence get a lower rate of return. There is a mezzanine tranche in the middle which is riskier but they earn a higher rate of return. Finally, there is a junior tranche which gets what is left after the other two tranches are paid off.

Despite the fact that the underlying securities are speculative, the structure allows the debt held by those in the Senior tranche to be given a AAA rating, thus creating what appears to be a “free lunch.” That is, those purchasing CLOs in the senior tranche get higher interest rates than those generated by other (legitimately rated) AAA debt. The reason for the low risk rating is because before anyone in the senior tranche would lose money, the investments in the mezzanine and junior tranches would have to be wiped out. So, why would anyone ever invest in the junior tranche? The answer is they get equity level returns without the volatility of equities.

Perhaps the easiest way to understand collateralized debt is to look at a collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO). Banks make loans so people can buy houses. Rather than holding those loans on their books, banks sell them to an investment bank which bundles them together and sells the bundle as a security which is divided into shares and sold on the market. The loans are overcollateralized because when you buy a house you have to make a down payment. If you default, you lose your down payment, and even if the bank sells the house for somewhat less than you paid for the house, it can likely still get back the money it lent to you.

For example, suppose you buy a house for $200,000, you put down 10% ($20,000) and get a mortgage for $180,000. The house is the collateral, and it is worth more than the loan. Now imagine a lender does this 1,000 times and thus has loaned out $180 million. Assume the interest rate on the loans is 6%, and the loans are for 30 years. Now suppose the lender divides the $180 million bundle into 1,000 shares and sells each share for $180,00. The share-holder would receive a payment of about $1,079.19 per month for 30 years, assuming there are no defaults. After 30 years, the share-holder would get back the principal of $180,000 and $208,508.74 in interest to boot. But suppose there is a 10% default rate, i.e., 100 of the 1,000 mortgage-holders make no payments at all. Then, instead of getting $1,079.19 per month for 30 years, the share-holder gets $971.27. So, over 30 years, the share-holder would get $162,000 in principal payments and $187,657.87 in interest payments. If the house is s4ll worth $200,000, the lender forecloses, and then sells the house, incurring $20,000 expenses, the lender nets $180,000 — the same as the money the lender originally loaned out, but less money than you than what you would have received had no one defaulted. If the price of the house goes down to $150,000, then not only has the lender lost due to the default, but also an additional $30,000 when the house was sold.

So, CLOs are subject to the risks (defaults, falling market prices) in the above example, and other risks as well. To mitigate against these risks, the lender can buy insurance called a credit default swap (CDS). Of course, appropriate pricing of a CDS depends on the insurer having a correct understanding of the risks being insured against. If the insurer underestimates the risk, then the insurer may not be able to cover the losses; that is exactly what happened in the second of the two bubbles we describe in the following paragraph.

All of these complex arrangements are subject to systemic risks. These are illustrated by two “bubbles”. Think first of the .com bubble, when from 2000-2002 the NASDAQ lost 75% of its value and did not recover for 15 years. Think also of the housing bubble 2007-2008, when the S & P 500 dropped 57% and took 5 years to recover -- even after a massive federal bailout plus the Fed also dropping interest rates to zero and engaging in quantitative easing. In that case, credit default swaps were already on the scene. So, within the space of a decade, financial markets experienced two major financial crises.

No one can predict when the next financial crisis will occur. But the growing complexity of our financial system, including the explosive growth of private equity and private credit, should give pause to those of us whose re4rement is totally dependent on the performance of financial markets; we should be wary when our pension systems participate in structured debt (that is, in the structured loan market).

One obvious solution, which would allow STRS to take less risk and continue to provide a secure retirement to Ohio’s teachers, would be to have a variable employer contribution like almost every other public pension in the U.S. (outside of Ohio). That would reduce the risk the pension needs to take and enable it to pay a COLA to retirees and provide an unreduced pension for active teachers after 32 years.

Bob Buerkle patiently explains our situation to Representative Romanchuk, but will he "get it"? What do you think?

Bob Buerkle's message to Representative Mark Romanchuk

March 18, 2026

From Bob: I just sent the following email to Rep. Mark Romanchuk regarding his comment to the STRS Board yesterday about how much better a STRS pension was than a pension from Social Security. NOT!

To Rep. Mark Romanchuk,

I watched the STRS Board meeting yesterday and heard your comments. I was not surprised, but I was disappointed, when I heard you say that our STRS pension was better than Social Security. As you should know, our teachers contribute more than 2.2 times the amount that Social Security workers have to pay, 14% versus 6.2%. Because of this our teachers usually have a larger beginning pension, but not always. We have some rural districts which pay their teachers substantially lower salaries than the big city districts pay. For these teachers, their beginning pensions might be close to the same as the average Social Security benefit. The big difference once retired, is that Social Security pays their retirees a compounded COLA every year, while the 155,000 STRS retirees do not know if they will ever receive another simple COLA!

Can I explain to you, another huge difference between an STRS Pension and one from Social Security? My wife did a wonderful job raising our children as a stay-at-home-mom. Therefore, due to our family choices, she then did not qualify for a pension of her own. In order to protect her if I passed away I had to take a substantial cut in my STRS pension. Not so with Social Security and I know, since I also receive a Soc. Sec. pension based upon the 40 years I worked at summer jobs. However, unlike the cut I took to my STRS pension, my wife qualified for her own Soc. Sec. benefit based on my work, at 50% of the amount that I make, and now she also receives a compounded Soc. Sec. COLA each year.

In a conversation with Jeff Bernard from ORSC a few months ago, at another STRS Board meeting, he said the same thing that you did, that "an STRS pension was better, much better, than a Soc. Sec. pension." So, I decided do a little research and compare the two retirement plans over the last 10-year period. I then delivered my information in a speech at the February 18, 2026 STRS Board meeting. I have attached a pdf of my speech for you to read and hopefully share with your legislative colleagues. As you can see, even on a relatively small pension, our retirees have fallen behind a similar Soc. Sec. pension by about $12,000 per year, which also means that our retirees have lost over 25% of their purchasing power in only a decade.

What will happen to us over the next 10 to 20 years in retirement?

Respectfully,

Bob Buerkle

Cincinnati Retiree

Karen Loeffler to STRS board: "I’m tired...of wondering when we will receive the benefits we were promised. When, if ever, will we receive the COLAs we were told would be ours." (and more.)

Karen Loeffler's speech to STRS board

March 19, 2026

STRS Board Meeting 03/19/2026

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.

But I’m tired. Tired of wondering when we will receive the benefits we were promised. When, if ever, will we receive the COLAs we were told would be ours.

I’m tired. Tired of legislators and politicians who seem to think they understand our profession better than we do, and who simply give us lip service about how important teachers are, how much we matter, until it’s time to come up with the funds to compensate us.

I’m tired. Tired of those same legislators and politicians, who sneak legislation into bills in the middle of the night, legislation aimed at taking away our voting rights, to keep that power for themselves, and a governor who saw fit to veto any number of items in that bill except that one item which restructured our board and reduced our voting power to next to nothing.

I’m tired. Tired of feeling helpless as I watch our elected board members try to advocate for us, only to be targeted and even prosecuted due to accusations made in an anonymous letter.

I’m tired of some members of the media, those who sensationalize and misrepresent our efforts to protect our pensions, portraying us as troublemakers and malcontents, because we dare to ask hard, uncomfortable questions.

But I’m grateful. Grateful that I can be here. Grateful for the dedicated people sitting in these seats behind me, who show up here month after month. Grateful for those same people, and many others, who are members of advocacy groups, who donate their time, expertise, and funds for the benefit of all of us. And I’m grateful for the board members, those elected by the members, who are taking on the difficult and often thankless task of trying to ensure that STRS is there for its members. We appreciate you, and stand with you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Robin Rayfield: As hurtful as the comments were from the ORSC leadership, I thank STRS for having these two people present their thoughts for everyone to hear. I hope that STRS can have legislators come in for discussions such as this more often in the future.

Robin Rayfield's comments to STRS board

March 19, 2026

Good morning. My name is Robin Rayfield. I am a member of STRS and executive director of ORTA.

Yesterday’s investment seminar included comments from 2 members of the ORSC. Representative Bird’s and Senator Romanchuk’s comments were what all STRS members expected and disappointed all STRS members. Representative Bird’s comment about ‘part time’ work of educators reminded me of STRS’s consultant’s comments a few years ago.

As hurtful as the comments were from the ORSC leadership, I thank STRS for having these two people present their thoughts for everyone to hear. I hope that STRS can have legislators come in for discussions such as this more often in the future. I mention this because years ago, I met with Kirk Schuring during his time as ORSC chairman. Mr. Schuring was very straightforward when he told me that my concerns about STRS were not the concerns of the legislative bodies, but instead were the concerns of the STRS board. He informed me that if STRS members were interested in reforms at STRS ‘we needed to elect reform minded people to the board’. History shows that the people wanting reforms at STRS did elect people whose interest included changes at STRS. What we did not expect or understand is that the elected people in Ohio did not want change at STRS. From the governor to the statehouse powerful people have blocked or partially blocked all efforts at reforms with STRS.

As STRS board members each of you has knowledge of the problem that STRS is underfunded. None of the reforms suggested will allow for any significant change with regards to years of service or inflation protection without increases in funding. Certainly reductions in costs associated with investments and increases in investment performance can provide more resources for members, but addressing the problems at STRS will require increasing contributions from the state.

To the elected members, I encourage you to continue the struggle to implement reforms at STRS. To the appointed members, I encourage you to take the message to the person that appointed you to increase funding for STRS.  

Dean Dennis with an educated opinion after hearing two legislators at the 3.17.2026 STRS board seminar

Dean Dennis' speech to STRS board

March 19, 2026

Cathy Steinhauser's sharp observations regarding two legislators who visited the STRS board seminar 3.17.2026

Cathy Steinhauser's speech to STRS board

March 19, 2026

Bob Buerkle to STRS board: How STRS missed opportunities that would have benefited us to the tune of billions!

Bob Buerkle’s speech to the STRS board

March 19, 2026

Around 1992 STRS began offering the option for retirees to be able to purchase Dental and Vision Insurance as a supplement. If you purchase both, the cost is just under $500 per year for the retiree and just over $600 per year for their spouse. TODAY, you can get this coverage for FREE WITH DOZENS OF Medicare Advantage Plans available to the general public. Most of these plans also include coverage for hearing aids up to $3,000 or $4,000 every few years.

In 2006 the Federal Government began subsidizing State Pension Plans like STRS, but only if they applied for it. STRS wasted three years before it started offering the current Government-subsidized Medicare Advantage Plan in 2009. Since STRS has over 100,000 retirees in their health care plan and the Federal subsidy is over $12,000 per retiree today, STRS receives over ONE BILLION, TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS in subsidies each year. Therefore, we now know that STRS missed out on the opportunity to receive about 3 BILLION SUBSIDY DOLLARS between 2006 and 2009, while the HC fund was needlessly drained of precious funds. During those three years STRS also used 1% of total Ohio School payroll, which added approximately $300 million to the HC fund that could have been placed into the pension fund instead. Furthermore, STRS continued to place 1% of total payroll into the HC reserves until 2014, five years after the end of the Great Recession of 2008-09, and that’s another $500 million not placed into the pension fund. Also, once monies are in the HC fund, they can no longer be returned to the pension fund.

So, what has happened over the last 12 years without contributing one dollar of Employer contributions into the HC fund? Well, thanks to the Federal Government subsidies for the STRS Medicare Advantage Plan, the HC fund reserves actually grew from under $4 billion dollars to about $5 billion, even after paying for all of the HC for retirees for the past 12 years. DO YOU THINK THE STRS EXECUTIVE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS FROM 2006-2014 WERE MOST PRUDENT?

Finally, I believe that STRS could include Dental, Vision and Hearing coverage in our plan, just like the plans available to the general public. A number of the plans also provide a subsidy to those STRS retirees who also qualify for Social Security. The plan that I chose adds about $1000 to my Social Security benefit each year, and provides me with a limited credit card to spend up to $200 a year in over-the-counter health aids. For these reasons I chose to leave the STRS Health Care Plan. I think STRS could, and should, provide similar benefits going forward; otherwise, we might have a mass exodus of healthy people leaving the STRS Health Care Plan.

One caveat – The STRS annual maximum out-of-pocket is far less, at about $1500 in-network, versus about $6-7,000 for most of the public plans with similar benefits. So, if you have a lot of health issues, or think that you might need multiple surgeries in the near future, you might be better off to stay with the STRS Plan.

Robin Beebe's message to Ohio's elected officials: See you ALL at the polls - 1/2 MILLION OHIO TEACHER VOTERS!!!

Robin Beebe's speech to STRS board

March 19, 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 coming up on 17 years. Denied my full 3% COLA's. Denied approximately $120,000 and counting.

    I am still patiently waiting for KARMA to make her appearance at STRS. Maybe my following comments will help speed up her arrival. Justice is not always an open and shut case, sometimes we must work for it.

    "Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

    "If not us, who? If not now, when?" - John F. Kennedy

    So, I choose NOW as the time for this PSA (Public Service Announcement) to my fellow active and retired Ohio teachers. My people. My tribe.

    Ohio's Primary Election will be held on May 5, 2026. The deadline to register to vote is April 6,2026 (coming up very soon). Ohio's General Election will be held on November 3, 2026. The deadline to register to vote is October 5, 2026.

 We active and retired Ohio teachers are 550,000+ strong. Think on this a moment. 1/2 MILLION STRONG. This is the chance to hold those in power accountable. This is the chance to change things . We must vote wisely.

    So, what are Ohioans voting on in 2026?

    * ALL 99 OHIO HOUSE SEATS (Refrain:1/2 Million Teacher Voters)

    * 17 OHIO STATE SENATE SEATS (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * 2 OHIO SUPREME COURT SEATS (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * OHIO AUDITOR OF STATE (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * OHIO TREASURER OF STATE (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * OHIO GOVERNOR and LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * ALL 15 US HOUSE SEATS (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)
    * 1 US SENATE SEAT (1/2 Million Teacher Voters)

    See you ALL at the polls - 1/2 MILLION OHIO TEACHER VOTERS!!!

Suzanne Laird to STRS board: Please cut through the blarney and speak up on our behalf in this room and at the statehouse.

Suzanne Laird's speech to the STRS board

March 19, 2026

Good Morning, Members of MY Board, and to our former Chair, wherever you may be, we miss you terribly!

You may start your timer now.

A few years ago, on St. Patrick’s Day, I asked this Board to estimate how many teachers in Ohio feel lucky? Tuesday, we were unlucky enough to witness a lot of Blarney Stone kissing, and a couple of leprechauns magically spinning marshmallows and rainbows. That calamity was quickly curtailed, but the question remains: can Ohio educators count on their elected and appointed Board members? I noticed several elected members speaking on our behalf, but no appointees. Everyone at the table should have been raising bedlam.

To be fair, I have heard a few appointees questioning the status quo here at the Keebler treehouse. The institutional entitlement at 275 East Broad Street largely remains intact, though, and you will be asked in the coming months to approve raises and bonuses and pots of gold. You have the power to say no.

As Mark Kelly and his fellow Senators said, “Do not obey orders” (especially from a lame duck Governor). Follow your moral compass. Do what is right for the active and retired teachers you are here to serve. Speak truth when the leprechauns spin fairy tales. Help the little lobbyist who is wandering in the weeds.

Teachers are not asking for gold. We never expected it; we just want what we are contractually owed. It is insulting to sit through presentations from representatives who clearly do not grasp the difference between a 6% Social Security contribution and a 14% STRS contribution. Or the work we do in addition to our workday and work year. Please cut through the blarney and speak up on our behalf in this room and at the statehouse.

We cannot count on luck alone; we are counting on you.

March 2026 STRS Board Meeting Information

Schedule, Agenda topics, Meeting materials and more may be found here:

https://www.strsoh.org/about/board-meetings.html

March 2026 STRS board meeting scheduled for March 17, 18 and 19. Public Participation is scheduled for Thursday, March 19

From STRS

March 10, 2026

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:

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

8:45 a.m. Annual Investment Seminar
Followed by Investment Committee Meeting

Those wishing to attend the investment seminar and investment committee meeting virtually may register using the link below:

https://strsoh-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__fwej_0NQSSsC2O8EgtfeQ 

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

9:00 a.m. Disability Review Panel (Disability reviews will be conducted in Executive Session)
11:00 a.m. Ad Hoc Actuarial Committee Meeting
12:30 p.m. Legislative Committee Meeting
Followed by Human Resources Committee Meeting

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

https://strsoh-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z8V3rjzLQZmjjYXBziN_HQ 

Thursday, March 19, 2026

9:30 a.m. Retirement Board Meeting

Those wishing to attend the board meeting virtually may register using the link below:

https://strsoh-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MSw2szkZRfKOSoKE2dj3nQ

The Retirement Board meeting will come to order on Thursday, March 19, 2026 and begin with board leadership elections, followed by public participation, a Report From the Finance Department, a Disability Presentation, the 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. 

We must Stand Up for Rudy -- NOW

Rudy Fichtenbaum, chairman of the STRS board who has given his all (and then some, to put it mildly) to get retirees' COLA reinstated and to reduce actives' contribution and required years of service, needs our help more than ever. 

Please go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-up-for-rudy-and-his-100000-commitment-to-you  to read more about Rudy and contribute as much as you are able, to Rudy's $100,000 out-of-pocket expenses for legal costs for the unfair lawsuit levied against him by the Attorney General. And watch Rudy's video. 

He does NOT deserve this kind of treatment for advocating tirelessly for all of us. We ALL need to do our part! Please show him your part in his much deserved support by donating now.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-up-for-rudy-and-his-100000-commitment-to-you 

Urgent message fromBob Buerkle

From Bob Burkle

March 1, 2026

Calling on all 40,000+ of us on the "Ohio STRS Member Only Forum."  Please, we need to raise enough money to reimburse RUDY for the money he has had to pay for his own defense for standing up for you and me, when he could have been enjoying much more time with his grandchildren!

Our STRS pension plan is a mess because of inadequate funding by the legislature. Until Wade and Rudy came up with a possible way to generate greater investment returns, NO STRS Executive, or their investment team, or their hired consultants had come forth with any new ideas since the 2008-09 Great Recession.

The plan Rudy tried to present to the Board was sabotaged by STRS Management, the head of STRS Investments and their hired Consultants. The presentation was ruined and never completed as planned and the OEA Board Majority turned it down. Nothing more was pursued by Rudy or Wade, yet 3 years later, when we won the final 7th elected Board seat, our own STRS Lawyers sent a 14 page letter to the Governor and a few days later the Ohio Attorney General filed the lawsuit against them. Yes, we do live in a state where our legislators and our legal system have many corrupt actors.

Rudy has provided a one-minute video in the link.  Please click on it below and donate today, then forward this to your retired friends and active teachers.

Fundraiser for Rudy Fichtenbaum by Cindy Murphy : Stand Up for Rudy and His $100,000 Commitment to You

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-up-for-rudy-and-his-100000-commitment-to-you 

Donate to Stand Up for Rudy and His $100,000 Commitment to You, organized by Cindy Murphy

~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Go here to read more about Rudy and to download a flyer to give to others to encourage them to donate to GoFundMe to help with his legal expenses:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19tYMVW5BLJ1-idQNUQxHP3tvNW35exyMGKIR62V1ygE/edit?fbclid=IwY2xjawQTFyBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFCYUZONkx

UcnlaSDREWFhSc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg

5MgABHhlbMWOIRUpbA5cQYIulzPurkhjtH6nJRZmLa8B1y-Tiuh-u5-JH7B6FrgeH_aem_U1XXXayXN5l3lIQFVKxhPA&pli=1&tab=t.0 

Chris Tobe: Columbus: The Highest Public Salaries in America — and Ohio Teachers are Paying for It

By Chris Tobe, October 31, 2025

In a shocking irony, the highest-paid public employees in the United States are not Governors, Presidents or Cabinet officials— but staff at the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio (STRS), based in Columbus, Ohio.

Teachers, meanwhile, have been denied modest cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for years, told the fund “can’t afford it.”

At the same time, investment staff in that same building are pocketing Wall Street–level pay — and the Ohio Attorney General’s office is spending taxpayer money protecting the excess in a sham trial going on this week.

1. A Two-Tier System of Public Servants

STRS is one of the largest public pensions in America, managing about $90 billion for active and retired teachers.
Yet in 2024 alone, according to Ohio’s official Checkbook transparency portal, the system paid out staggering salaries:

• 4 employees earned over $600,000.
• 20 employees earned over $400,000.
• 49 employees earned over $300,000.
• 85 employees earned over $200,000

STRSsalaries2024.csv.

By comparison, the average Ohio teacher earns $68,000, with many retirees living on less than $45,000 per year — without a COLA.

In 2019, STRS had only one employee earning over $600,000. By 2024, there were four, with salaries and bonuses doubling or tripling across multiple positions.
The growth wasn’t driven by investment success — STRS underperformed comparable funds, ranking in the bottom quartile nationally — but by internal decisions to inflate pay and bonuses.

2. The “Lawfare” Campaign: How Reform Was Crushed

Read the rest here.

Wondering why your grocery bill is so high? You'll find some answers here:

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/02/24/trump-axed-a-probe-into-grocery-collusion-ohios-u-s-senate-candidates-wont-talk-about-it/?emci=c524d176-c310-f111-a69a-000d3a57593f&emdi=366e7cfb-6f11-f111-a69a-000d3a57593f&ceid=625949 

Read it here: EPSTEIN, APOLLO, AND OHIO TEACHERS’ BILLIONS

While Columbus debates Leslie Wexner’s legacy, another Epstein-related name sits quietly in the background of Ohio’s teacher pension system:  Apollo Global Management. 

EPSTEIN, APOLLO, AND OHIO TEACHERS’ BILLIONS | The CommonSense 401k Project