By Jim Siegel
Gannett Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - Following a Statehouse rally Friday, about 300 active and retired teachers marched down the street and took out their frustrations on the State Teachers Retirement System board.

"Instead of being prudent and frugal with our hard-earned money, you ... have spent millions of dollars of our future livelihood on self-indulgent expenditures and a palace in which to work," Ron Catron, a retired teacher from Stark County, told the board.

Using phrases such as "shattered trust" and demanding resignations of many retirement system board members, teachers left no doubt they wanted the questionable spending to end.

The State Teachers Retirement System, with $47 billion in assets for more than 400,000 active and retired teachers, has come under fire this summer for spending millions on bonuses and hundreds of thousands on travel, artwork and employee daycare, all while the system lost $12 billion in market value and cut benefits to retirees.

"Board members have spent STRS money as you see fit," said Chillicothe Superintendent Dennis Leone, who uncovered much of the questionable spending. "It has to stop today."

Earlier, at the rally, Leone told the crowd: "We have a message for them: Today, the party is over."

The board took action Friday to address some of the concerns particularly travel expenses. The board set a maximum for each member of three trips per year, and will permit a maximum of three members per conference.

The board was under fire for spending $220,000 on out-of-state trips to places such as Honolulu.

The board also agreed to suspend all bonuses for noninvestment personnel, continue a hiring freeze and cut the operating budget by $6.5 million.

"We agree that some of our past policies and procedures need to be revised," said Deborah Scott, board chairwoman.

"We are prepared to spend the time and effort to do what is necessary to restore trust and confidence in this system."

Damon Asbury, interim executive director for the system, said he will institute more stringent guidelines for special events to ensure no teacher retirement money is spent.

Records have revealed the board spent $1,000 on a dinner, $4,100 for a retirement party and up to $18,000 for other ceremonies since 2000.

Asbury took over when Herbert Dyer was fired earlier this month. Dyer sparked controversy by suggesting retirees eat out less often so they could afford higher health-care premiums, and by stating that State Teachers Retirement System money belonged to the board, not the teachers.