CCISD Superintendent Joe Burns announces retirement at September school board meeting

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press 

Copperas Cove Independent School District’s Superintendent Dr. Joseph Burns dropped a bombshell following the agenda’s report and information items at the regular board of trustees meeting for September Tuesday evening. 

Board president Joan Manning announced to the audience, which included campus principals, media and other district staff, that Burns would be making an announcement that “none of us want to hear.”

Burns announced that, after 37 years in public education and 25 years as a superintendent (12 of which have been spent with Copperas Cove ISD), he has made “a very challenging, difficult decision to retire.”

“My last 12 and a half years have been here at Copperas Cove, and they have been by far the very best years that I've ever enjoyed as an educator,” Burns said. “We have an outstanding board. We have tremendous leadership in every department and on every campus, and it's time for Joe Burns to enjoy a different pace. I love this community. It's been very good to my family and I graduated four Bulldawgs from Copperas Cove High School. I am blue and gold.”

Manning spoke briefly about how upset she was after learning the news from Burns. 

“Most of us have already shed our tears… my husband the first day- [Burns] told me Thursday, and when he [Manning’s husband, Jay] came home, he said, ‘What's wrong with you?’, and I said, ‘I can’t tell you what’s wrong,’ but I think he probably figured it out,” Manning said, with a teary voice. “He’ll never be replaced, but we'll find the person that we can fit the best for our district, and we promise to try to do our best job at that.”

After Manning adjourned the meeting, former trustee Jim Copeland asked to address the board and the audience. 

“I was on the board for 21 years, and I was fortunate enough to be on the board that hired this rascal,” Copeland said. “And I’ll say this, we've had some good superintendents, but this is the best superintendent in the state of Texas. He can find money where it can't be found, and it's all legal. He's one of the finest Christian gentlemen I have ever met in my life, and at 93 I've met a few, but Dr Burns is the top of the list, and I want him to know how personally, I will miss him. I miss harassing him, and I do harass him a little bit, but I want him to know we're the finest school district in central Texas because of Joe Burns. And I'll tell you this, not a lot of school districts have people moving in because of our school districts, and they're moving in here because of Joe Burns.”

Burns began his career as a science teacher before moving into administration, working in Jasper, Lufkin and Zavalla ISDs. His final stop as a campus administrator was in Lufkin ISD as principal before his 24-year run as a superintendent began. 

He started in Hubbard ISD as the superintendent before moving to Kirbyville CISD, where he was named 2007 Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards. He was named Vidor ISD’s superintendent in 2009, before he came to Copperas Cove in June 2012. 

Burns’ announcement was met with tears and choked up voices, as Manning stated that the board would have to go through the process of searching for the next superintendent. The board is expected to meet Monday afternoon to discuss the next steps. 

Burns’ last day is December 31, 2024. 

“We don't want to languish without a superintendent,” Manning said. “As I said, it’s a long process. I’ve been through a couple of them before, and it’s not really much fun, but it’s something that it’s the board’s job to do, and it's definitely going to be the hardest job we've ever had, but it's got to be done.”

Manning added that the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) would be helping the board with the search.