The Columbia County School System is holding a ceremony today, Aug. 20, to honor late school board chairman Regina Buccafusco.
Buccafusco served on the Columbia County School Board from 1998 to 2016, and she served as chairman for nearly a decade.
A New Jersey native, Buccafusco moved to Columbia County with her husband Jerry in 1979 when he accepted a faculty position at the Medical College of Georgia.
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Although she had a degree in chemistry and worked as a research scientist at the Veterans Administration, Buccafusco dedicated herself to raising her two boys, Christopher and Marty, and acting as the “neighborhood mom.” Her son Marty said that his house was the hub of activity for all the neighborhood children.
“All of the kids would come over after school, and Mom would feed everyone snacks. She loved all of those kids like they were her own,” he said.
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As her children grew, Buccafusco decided to become a substitute teacher and was particularly thrilled when she was assigned to a science classroom. Marty said that as a teenager, he had to adjust to his mother’s new career.
“It was a little embarrassing at first, having my mom walking down the halls of my high school, but I got used to it,” he said.
Buccafusco’s first run for school board was unsuccessful, but that did not deter her from running again in 1998 and winning a seat on the board. Later, she would run for school board president and presided over the board for 10 years.
During her tenure, Columbia County experienced several growth spurts, and Buccafusco led the charge to have the school system grow to accommodate the surge of new students. Under her leadership, the school system built over a dozen new schools and expanded successful school programs.
Throughout her life, Buccafusco suffered from an autoimmune disease and debilitating arthritis, but according to Marty, her illness only strengthened her resolve to stay active and continue serving her community.
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“She would manage the pain to the degree that most people never knew she had health problems. The pain never slowed her down, it just made her get even more creative,” he said.
Former board member Mike Sleeper has fond memories of working with Buccafusco and described her as a woman on a mission.
“She truly believed in public education and did everything she could to make it better. That was truly her passion,” Sleeper said.
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Buccafusco was known for spontaneously giving gifts. On one occasion, she gave this reporter’s then 4-year-old daughter an expensive collectors’ doll. The doll was taller than my daughter at the time, and Buccafusco assured me with her thick Jersey accent that she was not “trying to curry favor with the press.”
Buccafusco passed away with her loving family at her side on March 16.
The recognition ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Evans High School on Gibbs Road. The public is invited to attend, and masks will be required.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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