Brookland-Cayce High School EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME
DR. CYRIL B. BUSBEE Inducted 2003
Dr. Cyril B. Busbee was born near Wagener, SC on December 17, 1909, to William J. and Minnie Frances Toole Busbee. He received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of South Carolina in 1928 at the age of 19, and received a Master's Degree there in 1938. He also did graduate work at the College of William and Mary and Columbia University in New York City. He received honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from both the University of South Carolina and Wofford College. Dr. Busbee married Ms. Thelma Marguerite Ecord of Jacksonville, FL. They have a daughter Carolyn Busbee Carpenter of Rock Hill, SC, and a son Cyril B. Busbee, Jr. of Irmo, SC. He began his career in 1928 in Homerville, GA and then in Windsor, SC, as a teacher and Superintendent. He came to the Brookland-Cayce Schools as Superintendent in 1943, but soon volunteered to serve in World War II as a U.S. Navy Lieutenant. He returned as Superintendent in 1946, and served Lexington District Two for 21 years until 1967, when he was elected State Superintendent of Education. Cyril B. Busbee Middle School in Cayce was named for him when it opened in 1969. He last appeared there in 2000 as a part of a reading program. Cyril B. Busbee Elementary School in his hometown of Wagoner is also named for him. Dr. Busbee served as State Superintendent from 1967 to 1979, leading South Carolina's public schools during the sometimes difficult years that achieved desegregation. He was proud of the fact that desegregation took place peacefully in South Carolina, and said "The integration of schools absorbed a lot of my time, but the time had arrived for it to be done." During his tenure as state superintendent, a statewide kindergarten program was established, 50 vocational centers were opened for high school students, and the state's free basic textbook program was expanded to include grades 1 through 12. Dr. Busbee was very active outside of his professional duties. At various times he was a member of the Board of Directors of the United Community Services of Richland and Lexington Counties, a member of the Board of Directors of the Citizens and Southern National Bank of S.C., President of the West Columbia - Cayce Chamber of Commerce, President of the West Columbia - Cayce Lions Club, President of the S. C. High School League, President of the S.C. Association of School Administrators, a member of the Advisory Board of the S.C. Area Trade School, President of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association, and President of the South Carolina Education Association. He was also an avid hunter and fisherman. His outstanding 50 year career was guided by the question "What is best for the children and teachers in our classrooms? They come first." Ms. Marguerite McCaskill, an English teacher at BC for many years, described him as "very professional and someone who showed a lot of interest in his teachers." Dr. Busbee was a resident of Cayce since 1943. He was a member of the Cayce Methodist Church, and served on its Board of Trustees. He died September 6, 2001 at the age of 92.

Return to EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME Page