So what is the alternative to actually paying for the increasing PERS costs? As you say, costs are high but results are poor, and this is in part due to the fact that a large portion of the costs are not actually going to students.

We can either change PERS retroactively, change current PERS  by eliminating any contribution to current employees, or find new funding. I think they have almost explored all options with changing PERS retroactively and the recent attempts have all been struck down by the courts. We could attempt to give all current employees a large pay cut... not sure that would work without a strike or a notable decrease in employee quality, or pay for it. What do you propose?