Statement from Comptroller Brad Lander on Leadership of the Board of Education Retirement System

New York, NY — The Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) Board of Trustees voted last week against a resolution from the Comptroller, which was also supported by the NYC Department of Education, to remove the Executive Director and demote the Deputy Executive Director of the pension fund following an investigation that found “egregious misconduct.” The Comptroller submitted the resolution after the NYC Special Commissioner for Investigation for the New York City School District found in August that the Deputy Executive Director of BERS lied to investigators and made false representations in order to seek a substantial increase in his salary, and that the Executive Director awarded the increase without sufficient due diligence, and then immediately requested a substantial increase in his own salary from the BERS Board.

“If a member of the BERS leadership lies to investigators, how can we trust what they tell trustees, members, or the public? If the executive director refuses to hold his deputy accountable for securing personal enrichment through false statements, how can we trust either of their leadership? As fiduciaries, we must be able to trust in the integrity of the executive staff — so that we can make the best decisions possible on behalf of the nearly 60,000 school crossing guards, secretaries, paraprofessionals, and other non-teacher public school retirees and beneficiaries we serve,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

The Comptroller serves as custodian, trustee and investment advisor to the Board of Education Retirement System, as well as the City’s top fiscal watchdog and fiduciary to the other four city pension funds. The Board of Education Retirement System is the pension fund for non-pedagogical employees of the New York City public schools.

The BERS board is meeting again on Tuesday, October 25 to continue the discussion of disciplinary measures.

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