LEXINGTON, S.C. — Parents from Lexington District One say they are outraged after an email exchange between a mother and Dr. Brent Powers. Powers is a school board member, who also serves as a Senior Vice President for Lexington Medical Center.
News 19 received copies of emails where a mother asked the school board for guidance about a vaccine requirement. The school district does not require its students to be vaccinated for COVID-19. However, the vaccine is a requirement for students taking Health Science Clinicals through Lexington Medical Center.
According to the mother in the emails, the course description does not clearly outline that the hospital requires students to be vaccinated. According to information we found on the Lexington Medical Center website, the program does require its high school students to be vaccinated.
Dr. Powers responded to the email saying that Lexington Medical employees can receive an exemption from taking the vaccine but the same exemption process is not offered for students.
Powers explained that Lexington Medical does not want to put patients at risk by putting them in contact with those who are unvaccinated.
The response email from Powers ended saying, "Finally, any implications of impropriety by you involving the hospital in a public forum will be engaged with the full weight of LMC. I will also publicly affirm that Lexington Medical Center chooses to protect the lives of the patients who put their trust in their care by requiring vaccinations of its students and vendors."
Parents at the school board meeting on Tuesday publicly asked for Powers to step down. When asked for comment on the email after the meeting, Powers walked away.
When we reached out to the school district for comment they explained there is a separate course for students who are not vaccinated to receive their Certified Nurses Assistant training.
On a different subject, the board updated parents on their search for a new superintendent.
"We will have a special called board meeting next Tuesday morning, August 30 at 8 a.m. to discuss matters related to the superintendent search," school board chair, Anne Marie Green.
The Board of Trustees interviewed 7 semi-finalists on August 19 and 20. They have not yet determined how many finalists there will be. They expect to name those finalists at the special called board meeting on August 30.
Once finalists are named, the next step is for those finalists to spend a couple of days in the school district, touring facilities, and meeting with stakeholder groups and community members.