School Teacher Denied Unpaid Leave to Serve in Legislature

Bryan Spencer, a Republican from Wentzville and Francis Howell School District teacher for 22 years, will begin new career as a state legislator on January 9th. Spencer sought an unpaid leave of absence from his teaching job. The District rejected his request. County GOP Chairman Jon Bennett and state Rep. Mark Parkinson, R-St. Charles County, say that’s unfair. They point out that the Board has previously approved unpaid leaves of absence for leaders in a teachers union usually allied with Democrats. The Board denies that politics played any part in the decision to deny Spencer's leave request. Read Mark Schlinkmann's complete article at Stltoday.com