On April 18, 2024, the Tenth District Court of Appeals issued its decision unanimously holding that Wade Steen was improperly ousted as the governor-appointed investment member of the STRS board and is reinstated.
The STRS board just happened to be meeting that very same day just a few blocks away, so Mr. Steen immediately headed over and took his seat.
What happens next is one of the most egregious abuses of power in Ohio history...
Click here to watch Colleen Marshall's report.
Despite Mr. Steen being reinstated with a court order, Chairman Dale Price and Vice Chair Carol Carrethers fought to prevent him from getting sworn in.
Just moments after losing his battle preventing the swearing in, Dale Price unilaterally ended the meeting to ensure no business would be done... in clear violation of board rules (there must be a motion and vote to adjourn).
With a reform majority firmly seated, Dale Price resorted to the only option left to prevent reform. Break the rules and lie to board members causing delay.
Guess what was on the published publicly available agenda to discuss but never happened? That's right, STRS employee "performance bonuses".
So now what? It's again time for teachers to stand up for what is right.
The governor has signaled he plans to ask the Supreme Court to intervene and deny Wade Steen his rightful seat on the STRS board. ORTA needs resources to continue this battle in the courts. Please consider making a donation to ORTA's Pension Defense Fund.
Perhaps it was Wade Steen who said it best on Thursday, "Retired teachers and active teachers have been waiting for a long time for change. Change is here, change is now and change is going to happen. They are trying to stop change, but they are not going to stop it."
Reform is inevitable.
ORTA hereby establishes a Pension Defense Fund (“Fund”) for the purpose of furthering ORTA’s mission of protecting the pensions of Ohio teachers. ORTA may solicit contributions into the Fund and shall restrict contributions received in the Fund for related uses. The Executive Director may make expenditures from the Fund upon written approval of the Executive Committee. The Executive Director is authorized to transfer unrestricted monies into the Fund and may then transfer money out of the Fund to reimbursement for such transfers.