News

Wow, we really do have some huge challenges! Our retirement system is in serious trouble and our Association is struggling financially. I will tell you, though; I have never met more committed nor more capable individuals to confront and resolve such challenges than the rank-and-file members of PASR and the individuals they elected to serve on PASR’s Board of Directors and its various state committees.

 

At our PASR Board of Directors meeting last month, nearly all of our attention and energies were focused on developing a plan to resolve all the problems with our retirement system and considering ways to strengthen our Association’s financial condition. The Board, you should know, mirrors the composition of our membership. The 24 members include retired teachers, administrators, and support professionals. They range in age from late 50s to almost 90. They are former and/or present members of PSEA, AFT, PASA, and other education groups. They have been retired from just two to more than 20 years. In short, they are a very diverse group and, as you might expect, view things from a multitude of perspectives. None are shy about expressing their opinions either, which is truly great!

 

The very lengthy discussion and debate we had over potential elements of a comprehensive pension reform proposal was certainly lively, sometimes heated in fact, as the individual members expressed their respective views with passion. At all times, though, the discussion remained civil and, in the end, this diverse group arrived at a plan that everyone supports. This is truly a plan that addresses all of the issues in the best possible way. It is good for our system, for all school retirees, for all current and future active school employees, and for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. We are united and committed to devote all our energies and resources to securing passage of this proposal.

 

PASR is limited in resources, though, very limited in fact. The membership declines we have experienced as a result of PSEA’s ongoing efforts to deny PASR the ability to obtain new retiree addresses and invite individuals to join us have taken a heavy toll. The legal expenses we have incurred fighting PSEA’s attempts in court are compounding the very serious financial problems we have.

 

I am seeing some very encouraging signs, though, that this will shortly turn around and that PASR will emerge from this latest threat to its existence as a much stronger organization. Our faithful life members responded generously to our request for contributions to help defray our legal expenses, contributing well over $50,000. Thank you so much for your contributions! Nearly all of our local chapter organizations are currently engaged in membership campaigns to encourage their members to support the state Association. Thank you local leaders! You are truly the backbone of our great organization.

 

On the legal front, there is encouraging news as well. The Commonwealth Court began its deliberations of the suit brought by PSEA to stop school districts from providing the names and addresses of school retirees to anyone for any reason, including PASR. Our attorneys were most encouraged by the arguments presented to the court and the tenure of the questions posed by the justices. It is much more likely, albeit not certain, that the Commonwealth Court could dismiss PSEA’s suit and void the injunction barring school districts from providing address information to entities such as PASR. We exist to serve the interests of those persons whose addresses are being sought and we provide an enormous amount of service to the public at large. We certainly pose no threat to anyone’s personal security.

 

PASR will restore its ability to maintain and grow its membership in subsequent years; of this I have no doubt. Our challenge is to find a way to continue doing all that we must do to serve our members’ varied interests and needs with the extremely limited resources we have at this time. The contributions we received from our life members helped a lot. The membership recruitment efforts our chapters are making now will help more.

 

Your Board of Directors will meet again next month and resume its discussions of how we might strengthen our financial condition. To be certain, we will be required to make some very tough decisions. We have to decide between raising dues or cutting expenditures to a much greater degree than we have already. Neither option is good. Raise dues and we will likely lose more members. Cut expenses and we will likely not be able to continue providing many of the benefits and services our members want and, again, cause us to lose members. We are really caught between a rock and a hard place.

 

As we were able to come to a unanimous agreement on a plan to resolve all of the pension problems, it is also important that we arrive at a plan to resolve our financial challenges. Like the comprehensive pension reform proposal we developed, the solution to our financial problems may contain elements that some of us don’t like. However, in total it will be a plan that we all agree is in the best interests of our Association and the members we serve.

 

Thank you again life members for your contributions to help defray our legal expenses, local chapter leaders for helping recruit new state members, and to all members for your continued support!