PGISD to consider hiring a firm to assist superintendent search

Current chief named lone finalist for Texarkana College president

Pleasant Grove Independent School District’s Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at noon Monday to consider hiring a superintendent search firm.

PG Superintendent Dr. Jason Smith was named as the lone finalist for the presidential position at Texarkana College on Wednesday. Following a state-mandated 21-day waiting period, TC’s Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting to formally offer Smith the position. He said that after that offer is made, he will tender his resignation from PG.

Smith has served as the district’s superintendent for three years, and during his tenure, voters passed a $19.9 million bond issue for a new elementary school, increased security on all campuses and technology infrastructure.

He will replace current TC President James Henry Russell, who put in his resignation in September to take the position of executive vice president and chief financial officer of BWI Companies Inc., a wholesaler and distributor of diversified agricultural products. Russell’s last day is Dec. 31, and Smith will take the position Jan. 1, 2019.

PG trustees also used a superintendent search firm to find Smith, who replaced Todd Williams.

Personnel and an executive session are also on the agenda.

The meeting will be held in the Central Services, 8500 N. Kings Highway, Texarkana, Texas.