Facilities and Operations

Division of Facilities and Operations and Other Departments

The Operational Services Division of Pinellas County Schools is housed at the Walter Pownall Service Center (WPSC) at 11111 South Belcher Road, Largo, FL, 33773.

Operational Services is comprised of the following departments: Building Operations, District Threat Assessment Team, Emergency Management, Energy Management, Facilities, Design & Construction, Food & Nutrition, Maintenance, Real Estate and Leasing, School Safety, Schools Police, Stavros Institute, Transportation and Warehousing.  Also housed at the Walter Pownall Service Center is the Instructional Materials Department (a satellite office of Teaching and Learning), which is not under the management of Operational Services.

Facilities Design & Construction (FD&C)

Doug Pollei, Director 
The Facilities Design & Construction department is responsible for managing the design and construction of the district’s educational and ancillary facilities. Staff members conduct plan reviews, which result in the issuance of building permits, and provide compliance inspections throughout the construction process. The department assists in the development of the district’s facility assessments, capital improvement plan and project budgeting. Staff also perform annual fire, health and safety inspections at district facilities. Staff includes registered architects, licensed engineers, certified construction inspectors and a building official. 

Fire Marshal 
Alison Shanabrook, Fire Marshal
The Fire Marshal performs technical fire prevention and inspection services. Responsibilities include enforcing the State Requirements for Educational Facilities as well as the Florida Building Code, Life Safety Code, and Prevention Code. The Fire Marshal also manages the district’s Fire, Health and Safety (FHS) program and oversees fire, casualty and sanitation inspections of buildings.

Food and Nutrition Department

Dustin Walker, Director 
The Food and Nutrition Department provide well-balanced and nutritious meals for students and staff throughout the year.  The department serves lunches, a la carte lunches, breakfasts and snacks each day using menus that are planned and coordinated using U.S.D.A. Dietary Guidelines.  The department is self-supporting and receives no funding from the district. 

Maintenance

Mike Hewett, Director 
The Maintenance Department employs trades personnel who repair facilities, maintain equipment, and keep buildings and sites throughout the district in good condition.  The department responds to service requests submitted by designated personnel at each school or district site.  Requests for service include carpentry, plumbing, electrical, technology, roofing, carpet maintenance, pest control, turf and grounds maintenance, heating/ventilation and air conditioning and painting. 

Pinellas County Schools Police

Joe Wiesman, Chief of Schools Police 
The Pinellas County Schools Police Department is a fully certified law enforcement agency, consisting of the Chief of Police, a major, sergeants, and sworn law enforcement officers, including two K-9 handlers. The department’s emergency communications center provides 24-hour coverage of all district facilities, monitoring intrusion, fire, and other alarms, as well as door access and active safety technology systems districtwide. 

Real Estate Department

Lutricia Johnson, Real Estate Analyst
Kelly Fasce, Real Estate Leasing Analyst 
The Real Estate Department manages site-related issues for all Board-owned facilities and real property buildings. The district’s nearly 150 facilities and land holdings equal approximately 2600 acres, making PCS the largest landowner in Pinellas County. The department works closely with local municipalities to enact and enforce easements, rights-of-way, vacations, and site records management. The department also manages long-term land and facility-use agreements and short-term facility leases. 

Safety and Security

Sean Jowell, Director
The Office of Safety and Security is dedicated to protecting the well-being of students, staff, and visitors across all campuses throughout the district. Our office works closely with school administrators, teachers, parents, and local law enforcement to prevent and respond to threats, emergencies, and other incidents.  

Transportation

TMark Hagewood, Director 
The Transportation Department is responsible for transporting 25,000 Pinellas County students to and from school each day.  Pinellas County school buses travel over 20,000 miles each day and also transport students on about 3,000 field and athletic trips yearly. The PCS transportation department has five bus compounds, each staffed with a compound manager and field operations supervisors to support the school bus drivers, bus assistants, parents and students.  

Vehicle Maintenance

Brian Lowe, Vehicle Maintenance Specialist
The Vehicle Maintenance department maintains over 1,200 vehicles, five garages and one body shop. The staff includes journeyman mechanics, lead mechanics, and a garage foreman, all of whom are DOE-certified School Bus Safety Inspectors. Mechanics are available for road service and are on call whenever a PCS bus is on the road. Other services include a body shop for paint and body work, as well as an upholstery and glazier department for all district-owned vehicles. 

Warehousing

Full-time warehouse employees are devoted to providing supplies and services that benefit all district staff and students.  Volume purchases, centralized storage, and distribution result in significant cost savings for the school district. The supplies include art supplies, office and computer supplies, floor care products, audio visual supplies, custodial and cleaning supplies, small cafeteria equipment, furniture, classroom supplies, first aid supplies, electrical supplies and tools, and physical education equipment. Other services include coordinating the disposal of all surplus/obsolete equipment through public auctions, recycling, redistributing surplus furniture, distributing all testing materials, student records transfer, and monitoring the inventory and fueling of district vehicles.