To the editor: STRS chairman disputes The Blade

The STRS Ohio (State Teachers' Retirement System of Ohio) is a public pension fund that manages retirement benefits for teachers and other public school employees in the state of Ohio. In recent years, there have been concerns about the performance of the fund, particularly with regards to its investment returns.

In February 2019, an editorial in The Blade newspaper criticized the management of STRS Ohio, stating that the fund had been "market-trailing" and that there was a "chaos" surrounding the fund's operations. This prompted a response from the chairman of the STRS Ohio board, who disputed the claims made in the editorial.

The chairman of the STRS Ohio board, Dr. John W. Haugeland, stated that the fund had been performing well and that the concerns raised in the editorial were "unfounded." He also pointed out that the fund's investment returns had been improving in recent years, and that the fund was on track to meet its long-term investment goals.

It is worth noting that STRS Ohio has faced criticism in the past for its management of retirement benefits for teachers and other public school employees. In 2017, a report by the Ohio Auditor of State found that the fund had been overpaying retirees by millions of dollars due to errors in its calculations. This prompted the fund to implement new procedures to ensure the accuracy of its benefit payments.

Overall, while there have been concerns about the performance of STRS Ohio in the past, it is important for the fund to continue to operate in a transparent and responsible manner in order to provide retirement benefits for the teachers and other public school employees who rely on it.