LFT President Steve Monaghan, left, and Jefferson Federation President Meladie Munch congratulate Joe Potts on his election.
LFT Executive Vice President Joe Potts has won the election for the District 1 seat of the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) Board of Trustees. Potts garnered 74.53% of the votes cast. The vote count was 960-328.
Potts, who is also president emeritus of the Jefferson Federation of Teachers, will serve a four-year term as the District 1 Trustee. District 1 represents most active TRSL members who work in Ascension, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John parishes. District superintendents, college/university members, and employees paid with food service funds have their own representatives and are not represented by district representatives.
The duties and responsibilities of TRSL Trustees are summarized on the TRSL web site as follows:
The TRSL Board of Trustees meets monthly and is made up of 12 elected members who serve four-year terms and four ex officio members. The TRSL Board is responsible for safeguarding and managing the assets held in trust to provide retirement income for system members. Each trustee serves as a fiduciary—someone who holds assets in trust for a beneficiary. A fiduciary is required to act with scrupulous good faith and with the best interests of the beneficiary always in mind. The TRSL Board is also required to adhere to the "prudent-man rule," which requires each fiduciary to act with discretion and intelligence, seek reasonable returns, and preserve capital. Members of the TRSL Board must also complete continuing education or professional development training each year in investments, actuarial science, law, and ethics.
"I deeply appreciate the confidence in me that teachers and school employees have expressed through this election," Potts said.
"The biggest financial asset most teachers and school employees have is their retirement benefit, and it is the foundation for their financial security," he said. "Protecting this investment is a responsibility that I will take seriously."