Lexington District One School Board members Gregory Little and Brent Powers. Little was asked to resign during the public commentary portion of the Lex. District One School Board meeting. Photo Michael Reed The StandardSC.

“Two Weeks Went to Three Years Real Quick… and Now We’re Going to Communism Even Quicker.” — Stephanie Berquist

The February 15th Lexington County School District One Board meeting was full of parents at their District offices to protest the ongoing masking and what many said were “unreasonable requirements” of the school district concerning their children. Many parents were gathered at the Board meeting to voice their concerns about Lexington District policies and how they intersect with their children.

Readers may recall from last May, that The Standard SC, in an article entitled “LGBTQP Agenda in Lexington County Elementary School”, exposed that Lexington School District One was involved in yet another incident. That incident centered around a 10 year old fifth grade boy who was taught that he could become a transgender during his class at Midway Elementary.

Board member Mike Anderson called on Lexington Police to remove parent Katie McCown from meeting following her objection to District plans for school children.

The meeting was mostly calm and peaceful. Tensions started to rise when a parent voiced concern over the treatment of her children in the district schools. That’s when board member Mike Anderson asked Lexington police to remove a student’s mother from the public forum.

The mother, Katie McCown, said that “these are my kids… can you see what they’re doing here? Y’all are doing this to our kids, shame on you, shame on all of you…” She was then escorted out of the room to applause from the audience for her statements.

Anderson is an at-large representative on the Lexington School District One school board. He has served on the Board since 2016.

During the public comment section of the meeting several parents commented about the ongoing muzzling of their children, and a legal notice was served.

Parent Debbie Myers

Debbie Myers, a Lexington District One parent who commented during the public input section, said, “I am a stakeholder in this district.” She continued, “This ‘pandemic’ and the ‘protocols’ have had little to do with the virus, and everything to do with control, coercion, and chaos, to produce compliance from those in your charge.”

Myers said, “We’re painfully aware of how many people have died, thousands of them at the hands of malfeasant government or ‘health’ entities. The truth is readily found, and you policymakers know the truth of the matter, as year three of this insanity approaches.” The Lexington parent pleaded with board members to “stop what you are doing” and “stop sending healthy children home to induce compliance with masking and jabbing.” She quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and said “the spirit and agenda behind this worldview chaos is evil.”

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless, not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Another Lexington One parent, Stephanie Berquist, addressed the board saying that “two weeks went to three years real quick”… and [now we’re] “going to Communism even quicker.” She quickly cut to the chase of her presentation.

Lexington District One parent Stephanie Berquist addressing District One School Board February 15th. Berquist served notice on the school board that they had 48 hours to comply with her Notice or be subject to a $1 million bond claim for violation of their oath of office.

Berquist read a “Notice of Intent to File Claim on Lexington One School District One South Carolina School Board Insurance Trust Policy“. She began her comments stating that she was giving “official written notice of my intent to file claim” if the board refused to meet her demands within 48 hours.

The Lexington County resident then outlined the basis of her claim as being “state and federal statutes that have been ignored, denied, and/or not followed by Lexington One School District, the member, which constitutes a wrongful act per the policy noted above as any actual or alleged error, omission, act, misstatement, neglect or breach of duty, and thus per the noted insurance policy above a claim constitutes a written notice or suit demanding money for damages arising out of a wrongful act.”

Berquist said there were a variety of “unconstitutional and illegal actions” she claimed were committed by District one board. Among those violations she claimed that the board had violated were Title 44, Chapter 29, concerning Contagious and Infectious Diseases, section 200; Title 1, Chapter 13, State Human Affairs Commission; Federal Code Section 242 and 245 Title 18, Color of Law; and other federal and state statutes.

Berquist said that the board of education “has the right to prevent an infectious disease based on sound medical evidence”. She then said that she had “an email from a Lexington One School Board member, and superintendent stating they have no data to support sound medical evidence, and such email states that not only is there no sound medical evidence, but in fact the district does not even have access to, or investigate such “data”.” She further stated that the Board was “acting illegally and against this statute.”

Additionally, Berquist noted that “no policy, no emergency and no sound medical evidence” in the state, town, county, or school district when masks were required by Lexington One School District. She insisted that Lexington One School Board used their “tyrannical reign to enforce these things, to include, but not limited to at any time over the last 2.5 years, masks, quarantine, and contact tracing, on healthy students while also denying them their constitutional right to a public education per South Carolina and The United States Constitution.”

The Lexington District One website states that District 1 serves over 28,000 students in their county district. The district includes pre-kindergarten through grade 12, and over 3,600 employees. The website says that the board also presides over the management of 31 schools: 17 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 5 high schools,  and one technology center.

‘Written Notice Demanding Money for Damages Arising Out of a Wrongful Act’

Following a description of various laws and statutes she claimed the Lexington One School Board was violating, all eyes were on Berquist as she read a list of Conditions and Demands she expected the Board to make. She declared the Board had 48 hours from date of service to comply or by Friday. During the public segment she said:

I demand the following within 48 hours of the serving of this letter of intent:
1. Gregory Little step down from Superintendent of Lexington School District One.
2. Cease all illegal activities, including but not limited to, the unlawful quarantine of healthy students, contact tracing, required medical testing of healthy students and/or any discrimination against unvaccinated students to stop, including any illegal mask mandates or retaliation
3. Cease any and all vaccine clinics at any school and shut down in addition to the immediate estoppel of any encouragement for any vaccine within the public school system.
4. For the Board to renegotiate all of the terms of the most recent ESSER funds taken, and moving forward any line item funds you agree to must be voted on by all parents in the district, as the parents will now be the primary stakeholders in their children’s education and medical decisions.
5. Remove any and all books within the Lexington One School District full of pedophilia, sex, or other pornographic, or sexually explicit material for minors.
6. Demands a full payout of $1,000,000 per Board member from the Board insurance policy (apparently an insurance policy has been substituted for the required bond that is required per state law). This amount was  claimed for violation of their oath of office and non-compliance with state and federal laws that “caused learning harm, psychological harm, emotional harm and distress to our children in the public school system, in addition to wages lost and an unprecedented amount of time spent emailing, calling, meeting with, and standing for my children’s constitutional values, and for the years of learning lost, and access to public education denied, of which years of life cannot be redeemed.”

Berquist said she has been fighting with the Board over these issues for two years and that there was nothing else she could do. Up until last year she had two children in the school district and said she was forced to remove them following a tumultuous event on school property.

Parent Katie McCown became emotionally upset following new masking and quarantine restrictions at Lex. District One. Board member Mike Anderson ordered her removed from the meeting.

Over the past several years The Standard has written several times about the fact that publicly elected officials must take an oath of office upon swearing into the office to which they have been elected. Every person who enters public office from governor to State legislator, Sheriff, town mayor, councilman, school board members, and more, must swear or affirm that they will abide by the State and US Constitutions, else suffer under penalty of law. This is the last remedy for citizens to keep their elected representatives in check.

Each person who takes that oath must be bonded by an insurance company under a surety, liability or fidelity insurance bond policy. The insurance policy includes what is required and covered under that policy. Any publicly elected representatives, including school board members, are commonly insured or bonded for $1 million dollars. If sued, the individual typically must come up with around $40,000 as a deductible for violating their oath of office.

Elected officials can be served process at any place, whether at home, the grocery store or even a big box store. Many across the country have been served at their elective office, such as school board meetings.

This is part of a movement of citizens across the country that are frustrated, shocked and have an “I’m not gonna take it anymore” attitude. Many of these citizens have joined together and created a website named Bonds for the Win, that has information about what is taking place nationwide.

As always, your School District Board members are probably eager to hear from the parents and students they represent. A link to their contact information is attached at this link.

Many parents walked out following the public comment portion of the agenda as the school board went in to executive session where they met in private outside of public purview. One parent commented when leaving the meeting that “courage is contagious.”

Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online, and TheStandardSC YouTube channel where many video reports may be found. Please share freely and donate to The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.

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