Cindy Smith has been named Director of Facilities and Construction at Nacogdoches ISD, filling the role left vacant when Ralph LaRue retired last month. Smith is also the first woman to hold the position with the district.
Most recently, Smith has been maintenance facilitator for the district, the No. 2 position in Facilities and Construction. Smith has been with the district’s plant services department since August 2017. During that time she has completed course work in construction management and finished several continuing education units in pest control and asbestos abatement.
“I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity,” Smith said. “There could have been no better teacher than Ralph LaRue to prepare anyone for working with both the scope and size of Nacogdoches ISD as well as the details related to this job.”
The district’s Facilities and Construction department oversee new construction, general facility maintenance such as HVAC, plumbing, painting, carpentry, pest management, electrical, locks and hardware, setting up for events, making deliveries in the district, custodial services, and grounds maintenance.
The department also manages shipping and receiving, ordering and distribution of all textbooks, test materials, warehousing and general supplies, and any material orders for campuses.
Smith has filled leadership roles in the completion of five recent construction and renovation projects at NISD: Renovation of the District Support Center, renovation and expansion of the Transportation Center, renovation of Student Support Services and Technology offices, and construction of the recently completed Professional Development Center.
“Cindy has spent the last several years being a part of and observing how a facilities and construction department is supposed to function,” said Superintendent Grey Burton. “I’m certain Cindy will guide plant services in the direction that supports our one primary objective at Nacogdoches ISD: student achievement.”
This is Smith’s third go-round with the district. She served as a teacher’s aide at Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary from 1990 to 1994. In 2005, Smith returned as a library aide for one year at McMichael Middle School then was dispatcher for the NISD police department until 2013. After a four-year stay at Garrison High School, Smith returned to NISD in 2017.