The election for teacher-member of the New York City Teachers’ Retirement System board is over — yet it’s not over.

Christina McGrath, the candidate overwhelmingly approved by the Delegate Assembly for the position, received 69% of the online vote to win the election. McGrath, a longtime pension rep in the UFT Pension Department, had been challenged by Ben Morgenroth, a math teacher at Brooklyn Technical HS.

It was the first contested TRS election in more than 20 years.

However, since the city Department of Education decided to conduct an electronic election for the position on May 8–9 instead of the paper balloting called for in the election bylaws, an Article 78 complaint will be filed in state court and there could be a re-vote, UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the Delegate Assembly on May 22.

“It was decided that, whether the winner was Christina or Ben, we have to follow through on a complaint,” Mulgrew said. “The rules weren’t followed, and we can’t allow a precedent to be set.”

For now, McGrath — the candidate approved by 85% of the Delegate Assembly at its Feb. 7 meeting — will serve as the new teacher-member as a result of the vote. She replaced former TRS teacher-member David Kazansky, who vacated the position.

McGrath, an elementary school teacher for 29 years and a chapter leader for 18 years, has worked in the UFT Pension Department for more than 20 years. She began as a part-time union staffer in 2003 in the UFT’s Bronx borough office and then served members as a pension consultant for 18 years.

When McGrath started working full time for the UFT Pension Department in January 2022, she updated the UFT retirement tool kit and helped update pension clinic PowerPoints and videos as well as train new consultants. McGrath started the Pension Files newsletter, published four to five times a year, to help pension consultants stay current on pension information. All the while, she continued to conduct UFT pension clinics, workshops and school visits.

McGrath also was a key member of the team that set up the union’s new final health benefits consultation, at which members also learn the benefits of joining the Retired Teachers Chapter, signing up for the union’s Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and continuing to contribute to COPE.

McGrath has played a key role in strategizing to help shape the UFT’s Fix Tier 6 campaign. Teacher-member Victoria Lee, the UFT treasurer, said McGrath’s “experience has allowed her to serve as a valuable asset to our Fix Tier 6 campaign.”

The transition to teacher-member on the TRS board has been seamless for McGrath, since she has already become a trusted liaison with the TRS for in-service and retired members.

Teacher-member Tom Brown, the chair of the city’s TRS board, said McGrath “has a tremendous base of knowledge about our pension system.”

Brown noted that trustees “oversee the investments of the fund, dealing with managers and our consultants, and we oversee the distribution of pension checks to our retirees and beneficiaries. Christina understands these roles of the trustee because she has first-hand experience with TRS.”

McGrath said she would give her all to her new role. “I’m ready for this job,” she said. “I will not let our members down.”

The seven-member TRS board consists of three teacher-members, the city comptroller, the schools chancellor, and two mayoral appointees.