WV TEACHER'S RETIREMENT PLAN

Gundovald received the following email. It was written by some one who checked-off the anonymous box. I have no idea who wrote it. I decided to give it some prominence on this page because it is a strongly articulated argument on a topic that has received considerable news coverage in recent days. A few days ago I had listened to Tony Barberio speak on the same subject on the Tim Brady morning talk show. That was the only thing I knew about the issue. A reader who wishes to join the written discussion may enter comments at the bottom of this piece or send a separate email at the email address link at the right. If you use the link at the right it is not automatically published but goes directly to me.

The Teachers Defined Contibution Plan (TDC) allows teachers the flexability to be aggressive or conservitive with the growth of their retirment $$'s. The TRS (old system) is a fixed guarenteed payment when you retire(that is as long as our legislature funds it).The "key" to this vote was how the state sold the idea to the teachers that the TDC is inferior and not as lucrative as the TRS. First things first, when ever the state wants to here from teachers they send information to the schools to be distributed by the principals to the faculty. Then they give back the information to the administrators who inturn, send the information back to the state. This is not what the state did this time. Ballots were sent certified mail. This means that teachers who were elegible to vote had to go to the post office to pick up their ballots. Most people who have received certified mail think it is something bad, like a court order and sometimes refuse to pick it up. I'll get back to this point in a moment.

Secondly, when the state school board held county meetings about the subject, they purposfully sold teachers on the idea that a guarnteed benefit out weighed the risk/reward aspect of the defined contribution plan (TDC). That this is their opportunity to get back into the "better plan" (TRS). If I may paint the picture...... the state legislature decided that instead of funding the old teachers retirement TRS, they would entice the teachers in the TDC plan to bring their $$ back into the old plan (TRS). While many of the teachers retirement $$'s in the TDC are out pacing the old plan (TRS), this would be a windfall and help fund the TRS (old plan).Not to mention the state wants these teachers to pay extra $$ to "get caught up" with the TRS.

The state said only %50 had to vote to make it legal, and by mailing ballots by certified mail they accomplished a %56.1 turn out. So by a simple majority and an actual %34 of the total TDC group in favor of the merger with the TRS the state has found a way to fund the old system.

The question now is about property rights, these individual accounts that these teachers own, are they bound by a class vote?