Ohio
Report: Allegations against Ohio teachers pension fund director ‘without merit’
State Teachers Retirement System Executive Director Bill Neville sometimes tells old stories and raises his voice at work but he’s not throwing furniture, degrading women, retaliating against critics or creating a hostile workplace, investigators concluded.
An anonymous letter purporting to be from STRS staff accused Neville of violence, harassment and other misconduct. The STRS Board placed Neville on paid leave in November while an outside law firm investigated the allegations.
A five-page executive summary of the investigation said the accusations are “largely without merit.” Two experienced employment law attorneys interviewed 23 STRS employees who have regular contact with Neville as well as two former pension fund employees.
Attorneys David Kessler and Stephen Postalakis concluded that the anonymous letter contained multiple untrue allegations.
They found that some employees think Neville has a tendency to raise his voice when he’s angry. And some reported that Neville likes to re-tell old stories that reference past girlfriends, but the stories didn’t rise to the level of creating a hostile work environment, they concluded.
Kessler and Postalakis didn’t uncover who wrote the anonymous letter.
Despite being told that the allegations were without merit, the STRS board opted to keep Neville on paid leave through mid-May and offer him performance coaching in the meantime.
Neville’s attorney, Rex Elliott, said “… the investigation found no evidence of unlawful behavior by Neville. It is even suggested that the false claims may have originated from someone external to STRS. Despite this, the author of the false email remains unidentified, and the STRS Board has yet to reinstate Mr. Neville, who should promptly resume his role as executive director to continue his commendable work for Ohio’s teachers.”
STRS Ohio is governed by an 11-member board that includes appointees and elected members. The board oversees $90 billion invested for 500,000 teachers and retirees.
Activists have been mounting a board takeover, electing board members who are more sympathetic to their complaints about transparency, senior leadership, staff bonuses, and the suspension of the cost-of-living allowances for retirees. Some of the reformers have called for Neville to be ousted.
Neville, who makes $318,000 a year, has been director for nearly four years and an STRS employee for nearly two decades.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Thousands of people are expected to head to downtown Columbus for the 23rd annual Home Improvement Show this weekend.
Organizers say visitors can find ideas for everything from small interior design projects to major renovations.
The event is being held at the Ohio Expo Center and includes seminars, exhibits and demonstrations from local and national companies.
The show begins at noon Friday and runs until 6 p.m.
It continues Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Adult tickets cost $5 at the door.
Matt Patricia’s contract extension earlier this offseason included a pay raise that figures to make him the highest-paid assistant coach in college football this year.
But Patricia, who will make $3.75 million in guaranteed compensation as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2026, also held an appreciation for his situation.
“Ohio State is such a special place, not only just the history, the tradition, the football program, the school, but the people here,” Patricia said. “Having a chance to have a little stability with my family, it’s hard when you have to move your family around, your kids and the new school and all that.”
Before he joined Ryan Day’s staff last year, the 51-year-old Patricia had bounced around as an assistant in the NFL for much of the decade.
He spent 2021 and 2022 in a variety of roles with the New England Patriots, then a year as a defensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles. He took off from coaching in 2024. The frequent relocation gave him perspective.
“We had an unbelievable experience settling into Columbus,” Patricia said. “Everybody’s been so nice and welcoming. It feels like home. It’s a big deal for us to be in a place where everybody’s happy. That’s really important.”
Patricia had a significant impact on the Buckeyes in his first year replacing Jim Knowles. Despite heavy roster attrition following their national championship season, he kept the defense atop the Football Bowl Subdivision. For the second straight season, no one allowed fewer points than Ohio State.
The 9.3 points per game allowed by the Buckeyes were the fewest by any defense since Alabama in 2011.
The success made Patricia a hot commodity on the coaching market, rebuilding his reputation as a sharp and creative football mind only a decade removed from his tenure as a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator for the Patriots. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant.
Patricia said he heard about opportunities in the NFL and elsewhere across the college football landscape, though none of them would pry him away from Ohio State.
“It wasn’t necessarily something where you’re looking to leave,” Patricia said, “but you do have to listen when those things come up. I’m just glad everything worked out.”
His challenge in his second season mirrors his previous one, as the Buckeyes are again managing the loss of eight starters on defense.
But unlike 2025, they have fewer returning pieces, relying on a larger class of transfers to help fill the holes on the depth chart.
“With as much coming into the program for the first time, not only are you trying to catch them up on the football scheme, but you’re also trying to catch them up on everything else,” Patricia said. “This is how we work, this is how we do things, this is the standard we’re looking for, this is how we practice, this is how we prepare, this is how we go to school. That has to be also taught. It becomes a lot, but that’s why you bring in the right guys that have the mental makeup to do all that.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
Gahanna Lincoln High’s principal shares thoughts on new building
Principal Jessica Williams speaks about the new Gahanna Lincoln High School on Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Gahanna, Ohio.
Which central Ohio school districts get the most bang for their buck?
On average, school districts in Ohio spend $16,069 per-pupil for education, according to the education think tank Fordham Institute.
However, different district types spend different amounts of money. For example, large urban districts with very high poverty spend around $21,000 per-pupil, but small towns with low poverty spend around $14,900. The district type closest to the state average are those considered rural and high poverty and suburban districts with low poverty.
Aaron Churchill, lead Ohio researcher for the Fordham Institute, said that urban districts – like Columbus City Schools, the state’s largest district – often have higher spending because they can pull more in tax revenue and the state supports them at a higher rate because they are serving a higher proportion of disadvantaged students. Small, high-poverty towns on the other hand, generate less tax revenue from property values and district employee wages, the highest expense for schools, may be lowered by less market competition.
Churchill said schools should be focused on directing their funding toward initiatives that improve student outcomes and achievement.
“It’s making sure we’re focused on quality, we’re focused on performance, and that we’re rewarding performance,” Churchill said. “And we don’t do enough of that in the education system now.”
Churchill said there is a long-running debate among education researchers about whether increasing spending translates to meaningful results for students. Overall, school funding has increased on average over $2,000 per-pupil since 2015 and reached a record-high in 2025, according to the Fordham Institute.
“You can see in the numbers that we’re spending more than we ever have,” Churchill said. “The real million-dollar question is ‘Can our schools spend the money well?’”
Which central Ohio districts have the best results compared to funding?
The Dispatch compared overall spending per-pupil for central Ohio school districts to the ODEW’s performance index, using 2025 state data.
The Performance Index uses the performance level results for students in third grade through high school on Ohio’s state testing. The Performance Index (PI) score accounts for the level of achievement of every student, not just whether they are “proficient.” Higher performance levels receive larger weights in the calculation, but all achievement levels are included. Overall, the state average of performance scores was 91.8, according to 2025 state data.
The central Ohio school district with the highest spending was Columbus City Schools, which spent $24,505 per pupil and received a PI score of 60.7. The district with the highest PI was Grandview Heights Schools, which received a 106 PI score and spent $21,567 per pupil. New Albany-Plain Local Schools was a close second in PI at 105.1 while spending more than $4,000 less than Grandview Heights at $16,923 per-pupil.
Here’s how central Ohio schools stack up by spending versus achievements on tests, according to the Ohio Department of Education (sorted by highest spending per-pupil):
- Columbus City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $24,505; PI score: 60.7
- Grandview Heights Schools – Spending per-pupil: $21,567; PI score: 106
- Bexley City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $21,025; PI score: 102.7
- Dublin City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $18,702; PI score: 97.6
- Worthington City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $18.573 ; PI score: 94.3
- Madison-Plains Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $17,646; PI score: 88
- New Albany-Plain Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $16,923; PI score: 105.1
- Westerville City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $16,815; PI score: 89.7
- Olentangy Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $16,780; PI score: 103.9
- Groveport Madison Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $16,236; PI score: 72.6
- Upper Arlington City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $16,282; PI score: 103.6
- Canal Winchester Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $16.154; PI score: 89.1
- Average Ohio school district – Spending per-pupil: $16,069; PI score: 91.8
- Reynoldsburg City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $15,956; PI score: 72.2
- Gahanna-Jefferson City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $15,742; PI score: 89.7
- Hilliard City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $15,694; PI score: 90
- South Western City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $15,600; PI score: 78.5
- Whitehall City Schools – Spending per-pupil: $15,593; PI score: 66.95
- Johnstown-Monroe Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $15,163; PI score: 94.5
- Jonathan Alder Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $14,803; PI score: 95.9
- Pickerington Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $14,470 ; PI score: 90.9
- Big Walnut Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $14,239; PI score: 95.1
- London City – Spending per-pupil: $13,750; PI score: 81.3
- Marysville Exempted Village Schools – Spending per-pupil: $13,608; PI score: 95.5
- Licking Heights Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $13,585; PI score: 85.4
- Hamilton Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $12,971; PI score: 82.2
- Bloom-Carrol Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $12,720; PI score: 90.89
- Licking Valley Local Schools – Spending per-pupil: $12,587; PI score: 85
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
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