I first met Tom when I was the UFT District Rep and Tom was a JHS Chapter Leader, he’d pull me into his classroom, he was a master teacher and his room looked like a travel advertisement for Spain! Tom invited me to attend a School Leadership Team meeting, the Home Ec teacher baked chocolate chip cookies, still warm. Tom raised an issue, the principal disagreed, the parents were unsure, a civil conversation, nothing was resolved.
I met the principal a month or so later and asked about the issue,
Principal: “He didn’t give up, perceptive, persevering and collegial, he convinced the parents and convinced me ….made us a better school.”
I recommended Tom for a PM Staff position in the Borough Office, from a few days to full time pension consultant to the Executive Board to a Union Officer to the TRS Board of Trustees to the Chair of the Board.
As his principal described him, “perceptive, persevering and collegial,” qualities uniquely suited to lead the TRS Board of Trustees.
There are seven trustees,
Three TRS members (“Teacher Members”) are elected to the Board and serve three-year terms. The Mayor appoints two of the Board members, one of whom must be a member of the Department of Education’s Panel for Education Policy. The other two Board members are the Comptroller of the City of New York and the Chair of the Department of Education’s Panel for Educational Policy. Each may designate a representative to act in his or her behalf.
The Teachers’ Retirement Board currently consists of the following members:
- Thomas Brown (Chair), Teacher Member
- Joseph Borelli, Panel for Educational Policy Member
- Philip Dukes, Mayor’s appointee
- Gregory Faulkner, representing the Panel for Educational Policy Chair
- Victoria Lee, Teacher Member
- Mark Levine, Comptroller of the City of New York
- Christina McGrath, Teacher Member
Just as his principal described Tom, “perceptive, persevering and collegial,” Tom leads the Board, protects our pensions and has initiated significant upgrades. The TRS-NYC website is easy to navigate, secure, with every bit of information about your account and any question you may have as well as a real, live person on the other end of the phone.
The Board meets twice a month, a business meeting and an investment meeting, open to attend, live-streamed and meeting are archived. Nerds like me actually watch them.
On May 13th Tom will be on the ballot to be elected for another three year term. The election is held in your school. Retirees do not participate in the election, retirees are no longer “contributors” to the retirement system, read dense the election rules here.
Tom was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Delegate Assembly, and I’m sure opposition caucuses will attempt to run their candidates, you require a thousand signatures of “contributors” on a nomination petition.
In my view it is crucially important that candidates endorsed by the Delegate Assembly to fill the teacher seats on the Board. If independent candidates are elected I believe it weakens the voice of teachers.
At the present time the five NYC employee systems are well funded, however you can never predict the future, Mayor Mamdani is facing serious budgetary issues, the booming stock market that boosts $$ in the pension system is impacted if the market dives? Could the city actually go bankrupt, highly unlikely, and, yes, pension benefits are protected by the State Constitution, they may not be “diminished or impaired,” however bankruptcy falls under federal statute.
In 2013 after years of incompetence and corruption Detroit declared bankruptcy, watch and excellent U-Tube here, in the bankruptcy settlement pensions were reduced (4%), and health benefits were reduced significantly.
I’m sure the opposition folks will say “fearmongering,” no, as I said while the current budget woes are serious, and Mamdani’s plan is unpopular we do have to face a conflict: actualizing Mamdani’s campaign promises, all of which will require additional dollars current and large budget deficits, hopefully, as I blogged Mamdani, Governor Hochul and Council Speaker Menin can work together to get the city past it budgetary woes.
TRS funds are NOT subject to outside tampering.
I just feel better with Tom Brown, “perceptive, persevering and collegial,” leading the TRS Board than an independent free agent ….
I am asking you to sign Tom’s nominating petition and vote for Tom on May 13th.
Ed in the Apple: Blogging on the Intersection of Education and Politics Title 