Any legislative actions which would take away the authority of the rightfully and democratically elected Reform STRS Board Members will unify active and retired teachers as never before.

I write this today, expecting that there will be at least one or more legislators who will see my thoughts and consider what might happen if they try to pull any shenanigans with our STRS Board structure. Any legislative actions which would take away the authority of the rightfully and democratically elected Reform STRS Board Members will unify active and retired teachers as never before. 

It has taken more than a decade of creating social networks with over 60,000 members. That number will quickly double or triple if the legislature takes away our voting rights. Over the last five years, all seven of the previous non-reform Board Members have been swept from their positions. If legislators think we can be pushed around again they should re-think that idea, or risk being swept from office themselves. 

They should also know that STRS retirees are already on a downward spiral towards poverty. You may ask, how can that be given that the average STRS Retiree pension is around $3,916 per month? Well, just since 2020 our retirees have fallen 23% behind inflation. STRS has all retirees on a lifetime pension path worth only 50% or less than the original pension purchasing power our retirees had at retirement. 

Two things must happen to avert this disaster. First, the losses we have already suffered must be restored to at least the level that the legislature restored retirees to in 1999, which was 85% of original pension purchasing power. Some of our current retirees are already now behind over 30%. Second, proper funding and/or changes in investment policies must be undertaken. 

 For over a decade, Callan Associates LLC. was the investment advisor for STRS. They were also the investment advisor for the Nevada Pension System, which employs only three people to run their investments, nearly all of which are index funds that cover each of the asset classes recommended by Callan. In an investment article in NCPERS, Callan stated that the Nevada System had outperformed all other public pension plans over the last 20-year period, while also having the lowest investment expenses.

Bob Buerkle is a retired Ohio teacher. He is a regular speaker during Public Participation at STRS Ohio Board meetings. His speech at the March 2025 Board meeting received the most views of all the posts on the ORTA website. Here it is, for anyone who missed it.

Bob Buerkle (right) stands outside the STRS Ohio building with Dean Dennis.