House Education & Workforce Committee Chairman Walberg and Rep. Lisa McClain Hold Michigan Field Hearing In Support of Servicemembers
Overview
On Tuesday, August 25th, House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) hosted a field hearing in Richmond, Michigan entitled, “Deployed, Not Disqualified: Defending Servicemembers in Our Schools. (us.list-manage.com/Zzu4C1xeWrt?e=05bce952ad&c2id=828e2f13ae2569477ba2b7da4ef30812) ”
The field hearing held at Richmond City Hall focused on the treatment of “servicemembers who face professional obstacles because of their military service—both while they are deployed and when they return home” stated Chairman Walberg. He went on to state that it is inexcusable that “the Committee has received troubling reports of elected school board members facing criticism, harassment, and intimidation because their military service required them to deploy. We have also seen numerous reports of teachers losing their jobs or being denied pay raises because they were deployed.”
To address the concerns raised with the Committee, Chairman Walberg and Committee member and House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-MI) convened a panel of three witness to share stories of
The witnesses included:
Mrs. Amy Stier (us.list-manage.com/dr1j3gjM_NK?e=05bce952ad&c2id=828e2f13ae2569477ba2b7da4ef30812) , Richmond, Michigan who shared the story of her husband, Ray, who was heavily criticized by some school board members for being deployed overseas even though he continued working to fulfill his responsibilities from an active war zone.
Mr. Chris Neeley (us.list-manage.com/gHkFkAiNZmw?e=05bce952ad&c2id=828e2f13ae2569477ba2b7da4ef30812) , Superintendent, South Carolina Public Charter School District, Columbia, South Carolina who provided compelling testimony on how his own military experience has helped him better serve his community as an educator and superintendent.
Mr. Jonathan Butcher (us.list-manage.com/sYJ6xFrZ2a5?e=05bce952ad&c2id=828e2f13ae2569477ba2b7da4ef30812) , Acting Director of the Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation, Greenville, South Carolina who rounded out the panel presentations with a summary of what schools stand to gain from having servicemembers in their ranks.
In the Committee’s press release on the hearing, it concluded with a clear indication of the “Bottomline.” “Military servicemembers don’t stop caring about their schools, students, or communities when they’re deployed. Deployment should not cost a teacher a raise, an educator a job, or an elected school board member the opportunity to serve. Those who answer the call to serve our country deserve policies that protect—not punish—their continued service to their communities at home.”
Based upon the hearing CSPEN anticipates that new legislation will be introduced by the Committee once they return from the August recess in two weeks.
