Demolition of Nacogdoches ISD’s Lenvill B. Martin Building began this week. The former middle school campus opened in 1965 and is located on the same block as Thomas J. Rusk Elementary.
In February, trustees approved using $745,129 to demolish the Martin facility and the former Emeline Carpenter School located on Leroy Street. Carpenter was closed in 2022 after completion of the new elementary campus located on SE Stallings Drive and also named for former Black educator Emeline Carpenter. The two former campuses were built at the same time.
RNDI Companies Inc., a Texas firm with offices in Dallas and Houston, was awarded the bid of $376,630. Additional fees include asbestos abatement and removal, architectural/engineering design services and other allowances and soft costs related to the demolition projects.
The Martin building last served students as the high school of choice and DAEP for NISD before both of those services were moved to the current Margie Chumbley Academy for Success on North Street. More recently, the former campus was used as a storage site for the district but had fallen into disrepair.
Lenvill Martin was a Nacogdoches native who graduated from NHS in 1929, and after returning from service in World War II, turning down a medical career to continue his work as an educator in his hometown. Along the way, Martin was a principal for the district before being named superintendent in 1961. Martin served in that role until 1974.
Other projects around the district are keeping NISD Plant Services crews busy during the summer months. NISD’s Plant Services staff oversees the work of contractors, making sure the jobs completed meet district standards and expectations.
At Nacogdoches High School, the band hall is undergoing renovations because of water damage last school year when a pipe froze and burst. Trustees approved in April a proposal with ServePro of Lufkin/S. Nacogdoches County to make repairs in the band hall, including replacing flooring, repairs to walls and replacement of ceiling tiles.
Also at NHS, the parking lot located in front of the campus on Appleby Sand Road was resurfaced. The parking lot adjacent to Dragon Stadium has also been resurfaced.
Inside Dragon Stadium itself, repair and replacement of the playing surface continues. The eight-year-old artificial turf field was damaged in May by the heavy rains that caused flooding in Nacogdoches.
During a special meeting in May, trustees approved the work at Dragon Stadium. Hellas Construction repaired damage to the base of the field and will install a new artificial turf surface. The track surrounding the field is also being repaired and will be resurfaced and striped. The track at McMichael Middle School is also being resurfaced.