[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DANIEL R. MANTHE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2012

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Daniel R. 
Manthe, an extraordinary leader in education policy and a dear friend 
who recently passed away.
  In my nearly half-century in education policy and politics, I have 
been blessed to work with and meet the widest range of committed and 
caring teachers and leaders. Daniel R. Manthe was both. Dan had 
education in his heart and mind and was one of the most knowledgeable 
people I ever met in the field. His efforts to make education more 
effective made a difference in the quality of education in whatever he 
touched. Education is better because of him.
  As a young teacher, Dan toiled and suffered innumerable indignities 
securing the signatures that formed the roots and early support base 
for the Michigan Education Association. As an Assistant Superintendent 
for the first Wayne County Intermediate School District, and then the 
modernized and retooled Wayne Regional Education Service Agency, Dan 
not only crafted the Michigan student aid formula section for education 
service agencies, but became the go-to person whenever any legislative 
bill or regulation even hinted at changing state education policy or 
practice for the county school district delivery system. His embedded 
in-depth knowledge base was beyond compare and unquestionably accurate.
  Dan also had an innate ability to be able to know and foretell the 
inter-agency effects of legislation outside the education realm. He was 
the recognized expert on the complicated process of school 
consolidation and was Dan universally liked and admired in the 
corridors of the State Capitol of Michigan. He was courteous, knowing, 
and ever ready with a joke and generous in assisting young people new 
to the Capitol. Dan secured handwritten amendments, bill drafts and 
multiple documents and was often the first to recognize emerging, 
important legislative information.
  Dan Manthe proudly represented the children of Wayne County, 
Michigan--all 34 districts, from Detroit to Ecorse, Hamtramck and 
Belleville. He was sought out by administrators and union members alike 
for his sage advice and deep expertise on how to accomplish various 
legislative feats. He tutored and fine-tuned the skills of a lineup of 
Michigan Department of Education state directors of legislation and 
school law who have gone on to become chiefs of staff for a Michigan 
governor and Speaker of the state House, a multi-district legislative 
consultant, and several Congressional and state legislative assistants.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in paying tribute to Daniel R. Manthe, a 
great Michigan education leader as we offer our heartfelt condolences 
to Dan's family on his passing.

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