Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
The Anderson Observer is interviewing school board members in contested races who were willing to discuss why they might be a good candidate.
This interview is with Incumbent Cindy Burriss who is running for reelection for the Anderson School Dist. 5 At-Large Seat. Burriss declined a video interview, so her direct answers to questions asked of all candidates are at the end of this story.
Cindy Burriss says she wants another four years on the Anderson School District 5 board to continue supporting employee pay, parental access to immunization information and closer scrutiny of spending on school facilities.
Burriss, an incumbent at-large trustee, supports renewing the school capital sales tax but opposes converting Southwood Academy of the Arts into a traditional middle school. She wants the district to examine existing buildings, including the former McDuffie High School, before committing to new construction.
“We need to be more responsible with our money,” Burriss said in an interview with The Anderson Observer. “We need to show good faith that we’re using our money wisely.”
She also supports Project Challenge Playhouse and opposes changing school board elections from nonpartisan to partisan contests.
Burriss described herself as a Christian, nurse, mother and grandmother whose decisions are guided by her faith. She has six grandchildren, including two attending District 5 schools.
She said her father, Dr. Mack Burriss, served on the board for 35 years and provided an example of public service.
Burriss said her initial campaign grew out of opposition to COVID-19 vaccination incentives under former Anderson School Dist. 5 Superintendent Tom Wilson.
She said students were offered $100 and teachers and board members received $500 for getting vaccinated. Those payment amounts were her account of the program and were not documented in the interview.
Burriss said she and others protested for about seven weeks and spoke at board meetings because they considered the incentives unethical. She also asserted that COVID-19 vaccines caused severe side effects but provided no supporting medical evidence during the interview.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says common COVID-19 vaccine side effects generally are mild and temporary and that serious adverse events are rare.
Asked why she is seeking reelection, Burriss pointed to what she considers accomplishments during her four years on the board.
“We’ve been making a positive difference as a board,” she said.
She cited a $2,000 across-the-board pay increase for employees and raises for principals. She credited fellow trustee Trip Dukes with proposing the flat-dollar increase and raising concerns about principal salaries compared with surrounding districts.
Burriss said giving employees the same dollar increase, rather than tying it to existing salaries, treated workers fairly across pay levels.
Burriss identified the district’s posting of information about immunization exemptions as another accomplishment.
She said parents should be able to find both school immunization requirements and information about lawful exemptions through school websites and online policy materials.
“That way parents can have choice for their child,” she said.
South Carolina permits medical and religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements. A medical exemption requires certification from an authorized health care provider, while a religious exemption requires the appropriate signed and notarized form. COVID-19 vaccination is optional for school attendance, according to the S.C. Department of Public Health.
District 5’s immunization information states that students must present a valid South Carolina immunization certificate or an applicable exemption form to attend.
Burriss said providing quality education, upholding district policies and addressing facilities needs will be important challenges during the next four years.
She questioned whether new schools should be built while enrollment is declining, attributing some enrollment changes to homeschooling and state-supported private school options.
She said the district should not commit to construction based on an assumption that voters will renew the capital sales tax.
Instead, she wants community meetings, a review of building capacities and a comparison of alternatives.
One possibility she raised is using the former McDuffie High School as a middle school. She presented that as an idea for study, not an approved proposal or a determination that the building is available and suitable.
She also questioned building another middle school beside Westside High School, saying the location would be close to Robert Anderson Middle School.
“We need to look at all the ideas, put them all on the table, get the community feedback,” she said.
Burriss also questioned spending she put at $6 million on the downtown district office. She suggested listing the property for sale to determine its market value, saying a sale could demonstrate fiscal restraint.
She speculated that it might bring $5 million, which is not an appraisal or market analysis.
Such a move, she said, could give residents greater confidence in the district’s spending before a sales tax renewal vote.
Despite her concerns about new construction, Burriss supports extending the school capital sales tax.
“Yes, yes, I do,” she said when asked about renewal.
She estimated that the tax generates about $1.3 million to $1.5 million monthly and said it could help pay for improvements to existing buildings.
Burriss also cited approximately $250 million in needed upgrades across the district’s existing schools.
Her preference is to direct resources toward maintaining and improving facilities before pursuing new buildings, she said.
Burriss opposes converting Southwood Academy of the Arts into a traditional middle school as part of a plan to reduce enrollment at Robert Anderson.
She said a $12.5 million investment in Southwood’s conversion to an arts school, along with its awards and student achievement.
“It exhibits excellence,” she said. “That shouldn’t be changed, in my opinion.”
Burriss described Southwood as a successful, merit-based program serving students from across the county and from varied backgrounds.
She said District 5 should also examine approaches used in Rock Hill, where her daughter works.
Burriss cited schools of choice, including a middle school program combining science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, commonly called STEAM. She also described language immersion and accelerated elementary programs as models worth studying.
She said some Rock Hill middle schools have required uniforms for about 30 years and suggested comparing practices across districts to determine what might work in Anderson.
“I like to look, compare and see what’s been successful in other districts,” she said.
Burriss said she fully supports Project Challenge Playhouse and has attended productions with her daughters and granddaughters.
She said recent student presentations to the board helped illustrate the program’s importance.
“It was very eye-opening,” she said. “It was very informative to see how participating in those theater programs changed their lives.”
Burriss said participants described benefits extending into careers in the arts, teaching and other fields.
Asked whether the district should help improve the current facility or find another location, she said the issue had been addressed at a recent meeting and that work toward a positive outcome was underway. She did not outline a specific agreement, cost or construction plan in the interview.
Burriss said the board’s responsibilities include ensuring a quality education for all students, upholding district policies and supporting the district’s mission and vision.
She also cited advocacy for students, parents, teachers and staff, along with adherence to her oath of office and the Constitution.
Trustees should oversee the superintendent without taking over daily operations, she said.
“We make sure to hire the proper superintendent,” Burriss said. “But we do oversight.”
After one term, she said she has learned the importance of finding common ground with colleagues.
“You’re not going to agree with people, but you’ve got to work with them,” she said.
Burriss said she views board service as both representing constituents and exercising independent judgment on behalf of the district.
Residents contact trustees with concerns, she said, and members should raise those questions while making decisions in the interests of all children.
Burriss strongly opposes making school board elections partisan.
“No, absolutely not,” she said. “I believe it should stay nonpartisan.”
She said introducing party affiliation would add political conflict and could require candidates to go through primaries. She described the existing two-party system as corrupt.
“We don’t need those politics in there,” she said.
Asked what else voters should know, Burriss returned to her faith.
“I pray about decisions, and I seek the Lord’s guidance,” she said. “I stand on the Bible.”
1. Why are you running for the Anderson School Dist. 5 board?
The reason I ran the first time is when former Superintendent Wilson, was paying the children (students) $100 and teachers and board members $500 to get (COVID) shots. And a lot of us knew there were going to be horrendous side effects from (the shots). The holistic people were saying that.
So, we protested for seven weeks. We went to the board meetings, and more than 30 of us gave speeches, passionate speeches, telling of the horrendous side effects. And so now we've seen since then it has happened. (What the district did) was unethical. It should have never been done.
I'm running now to continue to make a positive difference on the board.
I stand for the children, the parents, the staff, and teachers. Everybody got a $2,000 raise across the board, Trip Dukes came up with that mostly as he presented it about how it would be fair for everyone to get the same thing, and not based on how much you make you got the same amount, He has expertise in doing salary studies. He also found our principals aren't making what principals are making in surrounding districts, so principals got raises. That was a wonderful accomplishment.
Another highlight for me is on immunization requirements, which used to be called recommendations and are now the requirements. Most people thought and read that if you don't get your children immunized, then you can't attend school.
But there are lawful exemptions in South Carolina. So now everywhere those exemptions are posted and now it is in the policy manuals online and every school is posted right there for a link for the immunization requirements and a link for the exemptions so that way parents can have choice for their child is their child's health. I would like four more years to see how much more good we can get done.
2. What experience and or education make you a good candidate for the board?
I've had four years served on the board. As for my experience, I'm a Christian, I'm a nurse, I'm a mother and grandmother. I've got six grands, two of which are in District 5.
And of course, my father, whom you knew well, Dr. Mack McBurris, served 35 years on the board and that was a good example for me, a unique experience. He was always recruiting board members, so I followed in his footsteps in that regard.
3. What are the three most important responsibilities of a school board member? What are some things a school board member can or cannot do?
I would say quality education for all students. Upholding the district policies. We've got to make sure that happens.
Also upholding the mission statement. I uphold the district mission statement and vision. I'm an advocate for the children, the parents, the teachers, the staff, and I uphold the oath of office that I swore to standing on the Constitution.
There’s a lot we can do, and we're getting it done. As for what we can’t do, we don't try to run the operations.
We make sure to hire the proper superintendent and we let her do her work, but we provide oversight. We make sure that she's doing what she's supposed to be doing.
4. What are the three greatest challenges facing Anderson School Dist. 5?
The quality education for all students. That's one of the most important things. The upholding the policies, and the hot topic lately is the public pushing for new schools to be built.
Some of us are concerned that (public school) enrollments are declining, that's happening all over the country with that happening. And that's due to several reasons. That's due to these ESA funds.
The parents can get $8,000 to send their kids to private schools. So that's pulling out kids. It happened, it started, it worked.
During COVID that more and more were homeschooling their children. So that's a challenge.
But as far as the new middle schools, why spend taxpayers' money just anticipating that we're going to continue this so-called penny sales tax. That's irresponsible. We need to have community meetings and get the public input and do study and find out, to look at the capacities.
We've got some buildings that could be used, buildings that could be used for another middle school, and that would save a lot of money.
We need to be more responsible with our money. We need to show good faith that we're using our money wisely.
I have a suggestion, just an idea. The district could use what used to be McDuffie High School as a new middle school.
Some have suggested building a middle school beside Westside. That’s awfully close to Robert Anderson Middle School, so we need to look at. All the ideas, put them all on the table, get the community feedback, see what, you know, brainstorm, see what we can come up with.
But there's another topic that a lot of us have raised. The public has raised the question of why $6 million was spent on the downtown district office. And it has been said, for good faith, that (building) could be listed on the market, see what it could bring.
Maybe it would bring $5 million, who knows? But that would be a good faith measure that would give the public confidence that we're not going to waste that next penny if we can get that passed. And I believe it ought to be passed.
5. Will you work toward and support the extension of the capital sales tax for schools? Why or why not?
Yes do, because that raises $1.3-1.5 million per month. We can use that for upgrading the existing buildings. There are $250 million worth of upgrades we need to do with in our existing schools.
6. The district has discussed a few options for easing the student population at Robert Anderson Middle School, including a new middle school or converting Southwood to a traditional middle school and building a new arts middle school that could also eventually add a high school. Which, if any, do you support?
I support keeping Southwood as is. It’s merit-based, and $12.5 million was spent converting that into the fine School of Arts that it is. It wins all kinds of awards, it exhibits excellence. Students go there from across the county. In all demographics, it's highly successful.
That shouldn't be changed, in my opinion. I have looked at Rock Hill Schools where my daughter works. They have magnet schools, schools of choice, and so they have had success with this STEAM, which is like the STEM, but includes arts. And it's been highly successful. They've been winning all kinds of awards with their middle school STEAM program.
So that's something that could be looked at. What they've done in Rock Hill is in the areas where the schools were struggling, they made them into choice schools. They actually have one elementary school that is an immersion school, so the children go there for French and Spanish, and so that's all they hear all day long, you know, they don't speak English there. They are fully learning the language. They also have an elementary school that is for accelerated children and that works well for them too. Another difference they have in middle schools, they require uniforms there. They've been doing that for 30 years. I like to look and compare and see what's been successful in other districts.
7. Should the board find a way to support Project Challenge Playhouse either through updating the electrical at the current location or helping it secure another location?
That was addressed the other night. And it's, yes, it's being worked on. And yes, it's a positive outcome for them.
It's wonderful. I fully support Project Challenge Playhouse.
I take my daughters, granddaughters, and daughters to the plays there, and yes, I'm very supportive of that.
When the kids came to the board meeting and made their speeches, it was very eye-opening and very informative to see how participating in those theater programs changed their lives. A lot of them went out and became successes in the arts and teaching in different careers.
8. How would you meet the challenge of working with board members with whom you disagree?
That happens. I try to find common ground with them.
You know, I've learned through work experiences that you're not going to agree with everyone, but you got to work with them. You see you see them often, and so you do have to get along.
9. Do you see the role of school board members as a proxy vote for those who elect you or are a steward of public trust to do what’s best for the district no matter the political consequences?
It’s both. My constituents stay in touch with me as they do with a lot of the board members. We stand up, we ask the questions they are asking us. And yes, that comes into play, but we're also there by public trust, so we have to do what's best as well. And we do what's best for all the children.
10. There has been talk of making school board elections, which are currently non-partisan, into partisan elections. Do you support this change? Why or why not?
No. No, absolutely not. I believe it should stay nonpartisan. We don't need those politics in there.
We don't need primaries. We would have to go through primaries if that happened. And we would become part of the two-party corrupt system.
11. Is there anything I didn't ask you that you want people to know about you, that they should know about you as a candidate, a school board member, or person? Anything at all you wanted to add?
I pray. about decisions and I seek the Lord's guidance. I stand on the Bible. The Bible stands for: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
