House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa 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 Steir, who received an American flag and 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 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," Steir recounted.PARENTS SAY THEY'RE RUNNING FOR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO FIGHT 'POISONOUS' CRITICAL RACE THEORYHouse GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., left, pictured alongside Ray Steir, a school board member in Richmond, Michigan.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; office of Lisa McClain)The moment is just the most recent clash between Republicans and school boards over policies 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 Steir comes on the heels of a congressional hearing last week where she grilled a superintendent from Virginia over student privacy policy, probing if those policies were being unevenly applied to favor transgender students.VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SLAPPED WITH COMPLAINT ALLEGING NEW CLAIMS IN VIRAL TRANS LOCKER ROOM FIGHTRep.
Lisa McClain, R-Mich., leaves a...