THE TRUTH ABOUT TEACHERS' RETIREMENT FUND

By Becky Riggs, ISTA UniServ Director

As the professional staff person for the Indiana State Teachers Association, I serve local teachers associations in Cass, Carroll, Clinton, Howard, Miami and Tipton counties in North Central Indiana. Part of my professional responsibilities include serving as Treasurer for the Political Action Committee, campaigning for teacher endorsed candidates, and lobbying legislators once they are elected on education issues.

Politics can be a dirty business, but I have rarely seen a candidate or a political party outright lie about the facts. It is most unusual for a candidate or a party to decide to attack their opponent on an issue where his or her own record is significantly worse than the opponents’. Yet, that is just exactly what Representative John Smith and his Republican pals have done to former Representative Ron Herrell in the House District 30 races in 2004 and again in 2006.

In 2004, John Smith sent out direct mail pieces that attacked then Representative Ron Herrell and the Democrats for “raiding the Teachers’ Retirement Fund.” This accusation is not true.

In 2003, then Representative Ron Herrell, his fellow House Democrats and some House Republicans saw that the Indiana State Teachers Retirement Fund was going to have difficulty paying current and immediate future teacher retirement costs because of the start of the baby boomer’s retiring. The Democratic House and the Republican Senate chose to use the Pension Stabilization Fund to avoid this problem, and voted in 2003 to transfer 380 million dollars from the Pension Stabilization fund into the Teachers’ Retirement Fund. That is exactly the purpose of the Pension Stabilization Fund when it was established, and it was used legally and appropriately in 2003.

Now, in 2006, Representative Smith has sent false and inflammatory direct mail flyers to citizens in House District 30 that portray former Representative Herrell as captain of the pirates who raided the Teachers Retirement Fund in 2003. Smith states falsely that “teachers are left wondering if their retirement is safe and sound.” Apparently, Representative Smith thinks this issue helped him win the election in 2004, so he is resurrecting it to try and win again in 2006.

However, Representative Smith is not telling the whole truth to citizens of Howard County who receive this direct mail piece.

The facts he has omitted include:

1) Legislators are forbidden by law from touching the Indiana State Teacher Retirement Fund monies that have accrued for the purpose of paying teacher retirements.

2) The Pension Stabilization Fund was created by the Indiana General Assembly for exactly this purpose – to provide additional fund for public pensions if and when additional funds were needed.

3) The General Assembly in 2003 did not touch the ISTRF monies, and in fact, transferred money from the Pension Stabilization Fund to the ISTRF for the specific purpose of paying teacher retirement pensions.

4) In addition to misleading teachers and the public, if not outright lying about this issue in 2004, Representative Smith and his Republican House, Republican Senate, and Republican Governor removed 683 million dollars or 300 million more than the 2003 General Assembly, from the Pension Stabilization Fund and transferred it into the Indiana State Teachers’ Retirement Fund in 2005.

If transferring 380 million dollars from the Pension Stabilization Fund to ISTRF in 2003 is sinful and a reason not to vote for Ron Herrell, what should be the consequences to Smith for voting to transfer 683 million dollars from the Pension Stabilization Fund to ISTRF in 2005?

Smith voted to transfer 300 million more dollars than Herrell voted to transfer. Should we be twice as mad at Smith? Or should we be four times as mad at Smith because he transferred nearly twice as much money and then continued to mislead teachers and voters on Ron’s actions in 2003 and Smith’s own actions in 2005?

Teachers’ retirement remains “safe and secure” despite Representative John Smith’s misleading scare tactics and dirty campaigning.