ECASD Board Director Resigns

Ellwood City Area School District Board Director Matt Morella has resigned from his board seat.

In a letter to the board submitted on July 14, Morella stated, “I have relocated outside of the Ellwood City Area School District and no longer meet the residency requirement.”

Morella said he relocated to be closer to his job at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky Attorneys at Law in Pittsburgh.

Morella joined the board on July 3, 2020 when he replaced former Director Leroy Cortez, who passed away in June of 2020. He also had served on the board from 2013 to 2017 and was acting vice president of the board from 2015 to 2016 and also served as a Lawrence County Career and Technical Center representative.

In his letter, Morella thanked his fellow board members trusting in him to join the board during a global pandemic, for listening to him and supporting his ideas, and for disagreeing with him when they felt it was appropriate.

“The beauty of being on a public school board is collaborating with members of the community and working toward creating a supportive and stimulating academic environment for our youth,” he said. “Inevitably, we each have our own thoughts as to which route the district should take – but I like to think that our destination has always been the same.”

Morella also thanked the district’s staff and administration, stating that they are “special.”

“They care about our children’s success, and they support one another,” he said. “I urge you to continue supporting our people. Without them, our district would not be what it is today.”

He also thanked the community for their dedication to moving forward.

“I thank the members of our community for continuing to uplift it, and I wish Ellwood City and the surrounding areas future success,” Morella said.

His return to the board

Morella said at the time of his reintroduction to the board that although he originally had his sights set on helping to settle the SEIU contract deadlock, there were plenty of other issues to focus on such as getting students back to school safely during a pandemic, the restructuring of the district’s administration, and advocating for education as a first priority.

“I want to put resources as close to students as we can,” he said.

His history on the board

During his first stint on the board, Morella was just 19 years old but felt that he had plenty to offer as a board director.

“I knew firsthand the issues that needed to be addressed,” said Morella.

He had just finished all of his years in the district. Morella attended kindergarten and first grade at Walnut Ridge, second through fourth grades at Perry, fifth and sixth grades at Walnut Ridge, and then his junior and senior high school years at Lincoln.

One of the issues, Morella said, was a lack of technology.

“I spent my first term advocating for investment in technology,” he said.

Morella said his focus was on STEM labs and STEM education and equipping students with Chromebooks—devices which came in handy during the onset and continuation of the pandemic.

As that mindset took off among other board members, and technology began to be a priority in Ellwood City Area School District, Morella, who was no longer serving on the board, watched as SEIU Contracts continued to stall. He felt that in 2020 it was a good time to return.

Morella has requested the board accept his resignation immediately and officially at the Special Meeting scheduled for July 15.