House GOP chairwoman rebukes Michigan school board over bid to oust deployed member

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., criticized a school board in Richmond, Michigan, after some members tried to remove a conservative colleague for missing meetings while on military deployment to the Middle East.

Ray Stier received an American flag and a copy of the Congressional Record from McClain on Thursday in recognition of his service. He had attended board meetings remotely during deployment but later lost virtual access.

The board then moved to remove him, citing a "disservice" caused by his absence.

"One of the board members’ family was taking to social media and 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 said.

McClain said education is extremely important and that educators and administrators need to teach children how to think, not what to think. She added that administrators should be held accountable for their actions.

Her meeting with Stier followed a congressional hearing last week in which she questioned a Virginia superintendent about student privacy policies and whether they were applied unevenly in favor of transgender students.

McClain also referenced an incident at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun County, Virginia, where students who filmed in a locker room received different punishments. "The victims got a 10-day suspension and the biological female that did the filming got a one-day suspension," she said. "How does that make sense?"

In Stier’s case, McClain questioned whether the board targeted him because of his deployment. She noted that the seat had been vacant for two months before he filled it.

Stier said he had clashed with the board over bathroom policies that would have allowed fourth-grade students to use the same facilities as transgender eighth-grade boys.

Stier said his goal is to continue advocating for the community. He said the attention his case received helped bring some community members’ awareness to dynamics that had not been made public.