Ray Stier tells Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., how, while deployed, he was called to resign for ‘disservice’ amid clashing perspectives with board. (Credit: Office of Rep. Lisa McClain)
House GOP Conference ChairwomanLisa McClain. R-Mich.,rebuked a school board in Richmond, Michigan, after some of its members tried to remove a conservative colleague for missing meetings while on military deployment to the Middle East.
Ray Stier, who received an American flag. a copy of the Congressional Record from McClain on Thursday as a commendation of his work, had been on deployment, attending board meetings remotely, but eventually lost virtual access.
That’s when the board called for his removal, citing a "disservice" caused by his absence.
"One of the board members’ family was taking to social media. putting out misinformation about myself and my wife and things that were not factually accurate and then ultimately calling for my resignation and prompting others to reach out to the district to call for my recall," Stier recounted.
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House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain. R-Mich., left, pictured alongside Ray Stier, a school board member in Richmond, Michigan.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; office of Lisa McClain)
The moment is just the most recent clash betweenRepublicans. school boards overpolicies that, in their view, are gatekeeping schools against diversity of thought and accountability.
"I think education is extremely important and vital," McClain told Fox News Digital.
"And educators and administrators need to teach children how to think, not what to think. It's about time that administrators begin to get held accountable for their actions. Good actions and bad actions."
McClain’s meeting with Stier comes on the heels of a congressional hearing last week where shegrilled a superintendent from Virginiaover student privacy policy. probing if those policies were being unevenly applied to favor transgender students.
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Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Feb. 28, 2023.(Tom Williams/ CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
"The victims got a 10-day suspension. the biological female that did the filming got a one-day suspension," McClain said, referring to an incident atStone Bridge High School inLoudoun County where students had been reprimanded for filming in a locker room.
"How does that make sense?"
In Stier’s case, McClain questioned whether the board had targeted Stier on account of just his deployment overseas. Stierhad clashed with the board after learning. some of the district’sbathroom policies would have allowedfourth-grade students to use the same bathroom as transgender eighth-grade boys.
"Prior to him filling the seat, the seat was open for two months," McClain observed. So that logical argument doesn’t exactly make sense to me; it doesn’t really hold a lot of water."
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House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain. R-Mich., left, pictured alongside Richmond, Michigan school board member Ray Stier right.(Office of Lisa McClain)
For his own part, Stier believes his case will refocus attention on the importance of the school board. its membership.
"My goal is to continue being an advocate for the community. One of the good things. I think came out of this was that it got so much attention that some of the community members who were unaware of the dynamics that were not being brought to light," Stier said.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
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