Highlands School Board appoints new member in Region 1

The Highlands School Board has a new member.

Fawn resident Kelly Powell will fill the vacancy created by the Aug. 1 resignation of Justin Kipp. The school board appointed her Monday.

“I’m looking forward to building trust with the community,” said Powell, former administrative director of the PA Association for Gifted Education. “I want people to have an opportunity to ask questions and speak up.

“I think collaboration is one of the biggest things you need to bring to the board.”

Powell was voted in 6-2 over applicant Mike Naviglia, a Highlands alum and longtime area police chief.

“I don’t think you could go wrong with either of them,” board member Bobbie Neese said.

Powell will serve through December.

Anyone seeking to fill the remaining two years on the Region 1 term will need to run in the General Election in November.

A resident of the district for 22 years, Powell is the managing director of two nonprofits in Beaver County. That equips her with experience in budgets and community outreach that will serve her well as a school board member, she said.

“If you want change, you have to be involved,” Powell said. “I don’t shy away from differing opinions. I think some of the best discussions come from those kind of conversations.”

She hopes to improve the climate of the district, making it so that “bullying doesn’t fit here at all.”

Naviglia leads the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department, which formed in 2019 after the merger of three departments. He operates a $1 million budget, which gives him expertise in personnel, budgets, policy-making and more, Naviglia said.

He has since helped about 10 other departments regionalize, he said.

Naviglia previously served as Springdale Township’s police chief.

In the community, Naviglia has been heavily involved in youth sports; at Highlands, he helped bring back the seventh and eighth grade wrestling program. It gives him a chance to interact and “really get to know the kids,” he said.

“I’m someone who can work with everyone,” Naviglia said. “I say what I believe in. I’ve worked with people who make millions to people who make nothing. I don’t think anyone is better than anyone else.”

Board member Gene Witt said he appreciated the interest in the open board seat.

“It isn’t the vogue thing to do, to run for school board,” Witt said. “I’m happy that you both stepped up on short notice.”