Greetings ORTA Faithful,
So much to report to the ORTA membership this month! I thank you all for being so well informed on ORTA issues and your support for our efforts to reform our pension system. I have a few items of interest to the ORTA membership since last month.
Wade Steen… Great news from the 10th district court. The three-judge panel unanimously voted to return Wade Steen to the STRS board stating that Governor DeWine does not have the authority to replace his appointee without due process.
You can read the decision here:
https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/10/2024/2024-Ohio-1489.pdf
The decision came out the same day as the April STRS board meeting. Mr. Steen came to the meeting to the cheers of retirees in the crowd and, after some contentious motions by the chair, was sworn in. However, after Steen was seated the chair abruptly adjourned the meeting before over half of the agenda was covered. There were no motions to adjourn or any votes to adjourn, Chairman Price simply closed the meeting to the objections of a majority of the board.
May STRS Board Meeting
Due to the way the April board meeting was inappropriately adjourned (preventing any action by the new majority of reform members) the elected majority of members did take decisive action at the May meeting. The reform members, or shall I say members that are committed to transparency voted to remove the STRS chair and vice chair from their positions of leadership on the board. Price and Carothers were removed from the leadership oof the board and replaced by Fichtenbaum and Jones. The importance of this move is that the chair or vice chair are the only people able to call a meeting of the board and or set any agenda item for the board’s consideration. The impact of a reform board was made clear by this change in leadership. Also important to note is that action on two items on the agenda was delayed. One topic that was delayed until June was the budget for STRS. Included in the budget of over $100 million in salary increases for employees. I suspect that the board members need more time to make their minds up on the budget. Also delayed was a decision on the PBI (bonus) program. STRS management offered some suggestions for changes to the PBI program, however, the new majority is taking a slow and steady approach to changes. The importance of a new majority board is obvious. In the past the budget, with raises (remember last year with double digit raises?), or the PBI program that guarantees the investment staff receive bonus regardless of performance would have passed. Reformers would have objected and voiced their concerns while the status quo board members would have voted to approve. This pause in business as usual is really a positive development.
STRS Election
ORTA endorsed Michelle Flanigan won the active seat on the STRS board currently held by Dale Price in a landslide election. Eighty-five percent of the people voting chose Ms. Flanigan with 15% voting for the OEA endorsed candidate. A resounding victory for transparency and reform on the STRS board. Even before the celebration of Michelle’s victory could begin, Governor DeWine held a press conference announcing that he had received an anonymous letter charging that ‘a hostile takeover’ of the STRS would be investigated by the Attorney General of Ohio. Since when has the democratic process of electing STRS board members become a hostile takeover?
Much has been written about the efforts to reform STRS in the media and several news stories have been aired on TV stations around the state. The bottom line is that our elected officials are doing their best to thwart reform on the teachers’ pension. Mr. DeWine, acting like this is the first time he has heard of any problems at STRS is disingenuous to say the least. Mr. DeWine has received several communications from ORTA regarding our concerns.
ORTA has responded to allegations that ORTA has participated or orchestrated the hostile takeover. Interesting to note is that Mr. DeWine described a ‘red flag’ of consultant AON severing ties with STRS as troubling. Remember AON is the same company that paid a $1.5 million dollar fine to the Pennsylvania Public Schools Retirement System for lying about investment returns to the pension program. AON is the same consultant group that recommended STRS eliminate the public participation part of the STRS meetings. Something like, ‘if you don’t want to hear complaints from the membership eliminate the members’ opportunity to address the board.’ DeWine sees a red flag, STRS members see addition by subtraction with regards to AON.
It is unfortunate that ORTA, once again, finds itself in a battle with the governor of the state. After his lesson was learned with the Wade Steen matter, DeWine has now enlisted the assistance of the Attorney General (Yost) and the Secretary of State (LaRose) to thwart reform and transparency with the STRS pension system. Much like his attack on public education (dismanteling of the Ohio State Board of Education, and expansion of the program sending public education dollars to private education) DeWine is directly attacking educators again. One important thing to remember is that the sate statute that created the STRS board was intentional in the notion that teachers, retired and active, would have a majority of the seats on the board. The governor’s office now has two of the 11 seats. This was never intended by the legislature. Teacher pensions were intended to be managed by teachers on the board. ORTA is convinced that A.G. Yost is committing an abuse of process in his frivolous attempt to remove Fichtenbaum and Steen.
Recent Contact by Bob Stein
ORTA was recently contacted by Bob Stein. You may remember Bob from his time serving on the STRS board as a representative of retirees. Bob is now engaged in an effort to reform how Ohioans elect statewide officials. His work with Star Voting is a new way to think about how people are elected across the country. I have included a short letter from Bob for your consideration. ORTA is providing this in an attempt to provide information to our members and is not an endorsement of this program. It is intended to provide ORTA members with information that they might find useful.
Pension Defense Fund
ORTA’s Pension Defense Fund has collected donations since May of last year (2023). To date these donations have been used to assist Wade Steen in his legal battle with the Governor to retain his voice for reforms at STRS. Now the governor is calling on Attorney General Yost to ‘investigate’ the hostile takeover of the STRS board. The A.G. is turning his sights on the people the membership has elected to force transparency on issues like:
Investment strategies that have failed the members but enriched the investment staff, their friends on Wall St., and the politicians in Ohio.
Investment fees and costs that are considered ‘private documents.’
The relationship between STRS’ high priced outside lobbyists and the makeup of the STRS board of trustees.
Your continued support of ORTA’s Pension Defense Fund is essential to ORTA’s efforts to reform STRS and build a culture at STRS that values its members over the highly paid staff at STRS. Please consider a donation.
You can donate online at orta.org/defense-fund or you can send a check to ORTA Pension Defense Fund to ORTA 250 E. Wilson Bridge Rd. Suite 150 Worthington, Ohio 43085.
In closing, I want to say that our work has been an uphill battle. Wall St. and wealthy politicians are a difficult opponent in the quest for truth and transparency. We will do our best to provide ORTA members with up-to-date information.
