Steven D. Gothberg is a Warwick guy. He grew up here, graduated from Pilgrim, and attended URI before tiring of academics and going to work for Glenn Parker at Doric Building.

It put him on a path to a career in construction and project management, giving him the experience school administrators were looking for as the replacement to director of building and grounds David LaPlante. LaPlante has been charged with misappropriating more than $70,000 of school supplies and equipment.

Gothberg was one of more than a dozen who applied for the director’s position paying $113,000. He almost didn’t apply for the job. He followed the LaPlante story and knew the school department would need to make changes. He thought he could be the one to make them.

“When I saw what happened, I said to my wife I would like that job,” he said in an interview Thursday. “It was a chance to do something good for the city I grew up in and give something back.”

So the day before the application deadline, Gothberg submitted his name.

After an initial interview, he was called back for a second interview with key administrators, including the superintendent, plus two head custodians and a head carpenter. The department of buildings and grounds employs about 150 people, from plumbers, electricians and custodians to carpenters, groundskeepers, painters and roofers.

Gothberg said many of the questions he was asked focused on how he would tighten up controls so as to prevent a recurrence of what happened during LaPlante’s tenure without “handcuffing” employees from doing their jobs. One of Gothberg’s suggestions was for personnel in the field to use their cell phones to document the use of materials on a job. This could be especially useful in emergency situations where repairs have to be made immediately and there isn’t the time for paperwork.

Gothberg said he is working on a series of checks and balances that won’t impede the work flow, yet has at least two other sets of eyes on purchases and distribution of equipment and materials. He is also looking at inventory control systems.

Before even applying for the post, Gothberg wanted to get a picture of what he could face. He visited 20 schools to get a picture of the current level of day-to-day maintenance, as well as any structural issues the buildings presented. He also got a rundown of the upgrades slated for Pilgrim and Vets as part of the consolidation of secondary schools and what the superintendent is looking to do to improve security at all schools.

He wasn’t applying blind. Gothberg doesn’t care for surprises. But then he got one in the form of a call telling him he had been selected for the job.

Many of the jobs Gothberg is overseeing are ones he’s done himself. He started off as a laborer at Doric and went on to become a carpenter and project manager. At the time, Doric was doing large residential and commercial projects.

“Glenn Parker was my mentor,” he says.

When Parker changed the direction of the company – going into mill work such as the building of cabinets – Gothberg, favoring the outdoor work, moved to Marathon Construction in Framingham, Mass. The company was doing a lot of surgical centers and large retail projects, including big box stores like Home Depot and Stop & Shop. He served as a senior project manager for the company from 1998 to 2006, when he started his own company, S.D. Gothberg Construction in Warwick.

With the economic slowdown, Gothberg made another move. This time he was the chief engineer for Hampton Inns in Warwick and Providence and Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. He sees that job as giving him the “final piece” of experience needed to make him a viable candidate for the school post.

Apart from questions as to what he would do to tighten up inventory and purchasing controls, Gothberg said those interviewing him were interested by his style and how he operated. Gothberg displays that as soon as one steps into his office. The door stays open.

“Some people have been working here for years and never been in this room,” he says.

Gothberg expects workers to share their questions and ideas with him not only when in the office but also out in the field. He is also looking for input from the city and David Picozzi at the Department of Public Works.

In contrast to prior school administrations, Picozzi said he received calls from Gothberg about the closing of schools in recent storms and how the departments might coordinate snow clearing. Gothberg sees other opportunities of working together in the care of grounds.

“We can share resources,” he said. “There’s a lot of things we can do together.”

Gothberg envisions staying with the job for at least 10 years.

“This requires someone with some stick-to-itiveness…someone who is going to stay the course.”

He said he’s not afraid to do the work, and he aims to bring new energy and ideas to the system. He said he has an “open mind,” and he is looking to create an environment that is “open, fair and honest in all we do.”