Branscum Retires After 41 Years

‘Mr. B, why do you have to retire? I don’t want to come back to school if you’re not here,’ a kindergarten student recently said to Scott Branscum after he announced his retirement after working 41 years at Rural Special School.

After graduating from Rural Special High School, Scott worked various jobs, including working at the shirt factory for $2.35 an hour. He worked off shore for a while trying to make “big bucks,” but being gone from home wasn’t for him. He knew it was time to come home when his daughter took her first steps while he was a two-day drive away from home.

He came back to Stone County in 1977 at age 24, and began driving a school bus. As time progressed he picked up some more jobs at the school, including being a peewee basketball coach and eventually an elementary and high school teacher’s aide.

See the full story in the May 30, 2018 issue of the Leader.