Dr. Kayne M. Smith, EdD
Director of Transportation
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Director of Transportation
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
TAPT family,
My name is Kayne Smith, and I am running for the office of President-Elect for the 2024-2025 school year. I have served on the Executive Committee for TAPT for seven years, serving as Parliamentarian, Treasurer, President-Elect, Ex-Officio. I was honored and privileged to serve as your President during the 2020-2021 school year, where we were “united apart” as we navigated the uncertainty around the pandemic, and “stronger together” as we returned to celebrate each other and our accomplishments at the 2021 conference in The Woodlands.
I am currently the Director of Transportation Services for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. I started as a school bus driver and have been afforded multiple opportunities in my career for growth and advancement. This is due in large part to the educational and networking opportunities I received with TAPT. It has been my continued focus and desire to expand these opportunities, so others may be as fortunate as I have been to pursue professional goals.
I received my Doctor of Education with Texas A&M University-Commerce in May 2015, with my dissertation topic focused on school district liability in pupil transportation in Texas. I hold a master’s in education from LeTourneau University and my bachelor’s from Lamar University.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my sons, watching Texas Longhorn football, listening to my album collection, reading books, and taking road trips.
I have served as the chairperson for the Legislative Committee since 2015 and as a PDC Committee member since 2018. I received my TAPT Official Certification in 2008 and have been an instructor in many of our professional development courses since then. None of this would have been possible without the continued mentoring and support from countless individuals. The mission of TAPT is to “encourage the exchange of ideas and cooperation between transportation departments across the Lone Star State.”
If elected to the role of President-Elect, I will continue the work that started during my first term as your president, which is to work diligently to serve you, our organization, and our industry to pursue growth and expanded opportunities for all in our industry. TAPT was founded on education, and our offerings with online PDC courses and webinars only reaffirms the goal of expanded opportunities for all members. It will be my continued focus to build upon this foundation of experience, trust, knowledge, and camaraderie to ensure that we continue this pursuit of excellence for our organization.
Thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve you and our great organization.
Kayne M. Smith, Ed.D.