For Immediate Release
May 7, 2025
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Ohio Educators Elect Smith and Harkness to STRS Board
COLUMBUS — Members of Ohio’s State Teachers Retirement System (STRS Ohio) voted to elect Chad Smith and Michael Harkness to contributing member seats on the Board, according to results released today by STRS Ohio. Both candidates were endorsed by the Ohio Federation of Teachers. Rudy Fichtenbaum ran unopposed for a retiree seat on the Board.
“Michael Harkness and Chad Smith have pledged to work with the current Board majority to continue improving transparency and accountability at STRS and to continue stabilizing the fund’s financial conditions,” said OFT President Melissa Cropper. “These ongoing efforts, spearheaded by Board members that OFT has endorsed in past elections, has allowed STRS to begin restoring benefits by providing cost of living adjustments to retirees and lowering the years of service requirement for contributing members.”
Michael Harkness, the First Vice President of the Akron Education Association, has been with Akron Public Schools for 14 years, starting in the classroom as an Intervention Specialist. Michael has served on the STRS board since being appointed in the Fall of 2024. Chad Smith is a 27-year veteran teacher in Columbus City Schools with leadership experience with his union, the Columbus Education Association.
While the STRS election period was finishing up, legislators began to call for a review of the composition of the STRS Board. The 11 member Board currently consists of seven elected members (five contributing members and two retirees), three investment experts (one appointed from the Governor, one jointly appointed by the speaker of the House and the Senate president, and one designated by the state treasurer), and the director of the Department of Education and Workforce or their designee. Educators are concerned that their elected representatives on the Board will be pushed out in favor of more appointed members of the Board.
“The current composition of the Board is a good balance of elected members who lift up educator concerns and appointed financial experts,” said Cropper. “This balance has led to a partial restoration of benefits that were stripped from members over a decade ago. Those moves are financially sound and have been approved by the fund’s actuary. Removing elected educators at a time when the fund is performing well and moving in the right direction would be a slap in the face to the people who contribute to the fund and are most impacted by the decisions being made.”
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