Buildings and Grounds
Donald Preiss, Director
845-858-3211/3212
District welcomes new director of
buildings and grounds
The Port Jervis
School District is working to improve the quality of its
schools, while keeping costs at a minimum. Donald Preiss, the
district’s new director of buildings and grounds, was hired
recently to help guide this effort.
With more than 30
years of experience in facilities engineering and management,
Preiss has the skills required to direct the maintenance of
school buildings and grounds, administer school renovation
project contracts, serve as a liaison with state and local
agencies, and supervise a staff of 38.
“The district is pleased to welcome Don Preiss to our staff,”
said Assistant Superintendent for Business Lorelei Case. “After
interviewing numerous qualified candidates, we quickly
determined that Mr. Preiss was the most qualified person for
this challenging position. In addition to being a certified code
enforcement officer, he has the organizational, management, and
technical skills needed to manage major renovation projects and
keep operating costs down by looking for innovative ways to keep
our systems running more efficiently.”
Preiss came to
Port Jervis from IBM where he spent nearly three decades working
in facilities management at the Thomas Watson Research Center in
Yorktown Heights. At IBM, Preiss advanced from serving as the
supervisor of maintenance and building-cleaning services to
facilities to serving as manager of several area including
engineering, telecommunications, and research.
Most recently, Preiss managed the site’s telecommunication
services, which included designing and installing wireless
infrastructure for cellular service and upgrading the site
antiquated telecommunications system. He has also managed
several major capital renovation projects at IBM and led many
cross-functional teams to include capital planning, electrical
safety, and environmental-waste management.
His contributions
did not go without notice. Over the years, Preiss received
numerous distinguished service awards including four IBM
Research Division Awards, an Invention Disclosure Award and the
IBM Group Technical Achievement Award.
Preiss residents
in Cornwall with his wife and four children.
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