HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania School Employees' Retirement System spent more than $55,700 on travel for board members last year, including attending conferences at luxury hotels, its records show.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg requested the system's records as part of its look at government spending.

Board chairman Roger May defended the travel, noting that it was only a fraction of the $39.5 million operating budget for the system, which manages $50 billion in investments. Attending conferences is essential to making good decisions to manage the fund, which generated a 12 percent return over the past year, he said.

"I absolutely have to keep on top of all things changing within the parameter of investments," said Mr. May, a Williamsport teacher on leave. "We hire professionals to make recommendations, but if we have no knowledge of what's going on, we don't know whether or not we approved something rational or someone had a silly idea and let's take a chance."

Another board member, Allegheny County teacher Gerald Katona, said conference locations such as Tampa, Fla., and Honolulu were not a factor in his decision to attend them.

"I don't have any control over where they are," Mr. Katona said.

Richard Rowland, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees, was unconvinced of the need for such travel.

"This is arrogance and total insensitivity to both the state and taxpayers, who are facing these large increases in contribution rates, and to the retirees themselves," Mr. Rowland said.

The retirement system's board voted last month to increase the contribution rate that school districts and the state must pay to support the school employees' pension system by 38 percent in 2006-07. That translates to $220 million more that taxpayers must pick up. School boards said the higher costs might make it harder to avoid tax increases.

Mr. May said the conference and travel budget has little to do with the increase in the contribution rate and that to link the two is "garbage."

Central Dauphin School Board President Mike Mausner said the system's spending on conferences raises questions about whether system members are doing their jobs efficiently.

Mr. Mausner suggested the system could save money by sending fewer people to such events, noting that three members attended the National Council on Teacher Retirement conference in Tampa in October.

"I think it's incumbent upon all public officials to use good judgment in attending conventions and meetings and limit that to only those where they need to be in attendance," Mr. Mausner said.

Mr. Rowland said the retirees' association is proposing a state law forbidding foreign travel by the pension system's board.

Records show that Mr. May and Mr. Katona traveled to the Czech Republic and Russia for a conference in 2005.