ECASD Board of Directors Appoints Joyce Cirelli to Fill Vacant Board Seat

The Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to appoint Joyce Cirelli to fill the vacant seat on the board during Monday night’s agenda meeting.

Cirelli’s appointment follows the July 31, 2026, resignation from the board of former Board Director Kevin Boariu.

Cirelli was one of four potential replacements that were publicly interviewed during Monday night’s meeting.

Joyce Cirelli

Cirelli said she has more than 30 years of experience in Education in healthcare and played an integral part in moving schools at Heritage Valley Health System to the Community College of Beaver County.

“I created five academies in five years,” she said. “I am not a stranger to working with school boards.”

Cirelli said her desire to join the board came from seeing the challenges the board was up against, especially financially.

“I feel like I can offer solutions,” she said.

She said she would have a student-first approach while considering disadvantaged students and keeping fiscal responsibility in mind to serve the taxpayers in the district.

Other candidates included newly retired history teacher, Rob Brough; former board director, Renee Pitrelli; and U.S. Marine, Victoria Malcolm, who is no stranger to running for school board seats.

Rob Brough

Brough told the board that he has dedicated 33 years of his life to education in Ellwood City, a community and school district that he grew up in. Brough took an early retirement option, but said he still believes he has work to be done.

“I wasn’t done being done with Ellwood City,” he said.

Brough said he wanted to continue to serve and be the voice of his teaching peers, the students, and the community.

Brough told the board that he’d approach the role by brainstorming.

“I would listen, learn, and contribute,” he said.

Brough had a few students, colleagues, and members of the community that spoke on his behalf.

Riley Brown a student who will be a senior in the fall said she thinks Brough is just the man for the job.

“I was lucky enough to see how much of a difference Mr. Brough made,” she said. “He didn’t just teach classes; he built a community.”

Another community member likened Brough to the no-nonsense guy that will tell it like it is and provide the solution that is needed. He compared Brough to a roofer or contractor that might not tell you exactly what you want to hear but will tell you “what you need to do.” He said Brough is someone you can trust.

Victoria Malcolm

Victoria Malcolm has run for school director the last two elections and said she is ready to serve. Serving is something that Malcolm is used to as she is a U.S. Marine. Malcolm said she is well aware of the chain of command and as a parent of kids in the district and active member of the PTO, she is in contact with parents and kids in the district.

“I want to be the voice of the kids and the taxpayers,” she said.

Malcolm said her approach to making difficult decisions would be to do all the research beforehand.

Renee Pitrelli

Renee Pitrelli served in various capacities on the board for more than a decade. She said she enjoyed her time on the board and would like to return. She believes her board experience would help with some of the issues that the board is currently facing.

“I felt like I could contribute with my experience,” she said citing that she served during COVID, which was a challenging time for the district.

As a former PTO member and parent of students, she vowed to always put the kids first while staying steadfast to a town of taxpayers with an aging population.

Following the interviews and vote, Cirelli joined the board at the table.

The board will hold its regular meeting on Monday, August 10, 2026.