A conservative school board member in Richmond, Michigan, is facing calls to resign after missing meetings while on military deployment to the Middle East. Ray Steir, the school board member, had been attending board meetings remotely but eventually lost virtual access. The board then called for his removal, citing a ‘disservice’ caused by his absence.

Support from GOP Lawmaker

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., has come to Steir’s defense, questioning whether the board had targeted him on account of his deployment overseas. McClain presented Steir with an American flag and a copy of the Congressional Record as a commendation of his work.

McClain’s meeting with Steir comes on the heels of a congressional hearing where she grilled a superintendent from Virginia over student privacy policy, probing if those policies were being unevenly applied to favor transgender students. McClain emphasized the importance of educators teaching children how to think, not what to think, and holding administrators accountable for their actions.

Steir had clashed with the board after learning that some of the district’s bathroom policies would have allowed fourth-grade students to use the same bathroom as transgender eighth-grade boys. Steir believes his case will refocus attention on the importance of the school board and its membership, and he aims to continue being an advocate for the community.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.