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Only investment returns can improve benefits and still maintain STRS as a cost-effective pension plan into the future.
There are very few people with Bob's combination of skills that are also qualified to serve on the STRS board. Bob is the ONLY candidate with investment training or experience and the only one with experience in trading currencies, futures, and other instruments once considered exotic. Bob will probably be the only board member who has experience providing training in these types of investments.
Only board members can vote. Only board members can make motions or direct conversation at board meetings. We need board members with investment training or experience.
NONE of these statements should be interpreted to suggest that Bob is a financial whiz or that any board members lack a sincere motivation to work for the benefit of STRS. However, most of the board members are elected directly from the ranks of education specialists. Most of them have dedicated their lives to very specialized areas of education practice that are essential to a public education system. Bob focused his training on education needed by a broader population and in an area (trading and investing) not common in public schools. Bob's background is not better – just well suited to this particular task. | 
