Karns City Area reelects 3 former members, 5 seats filled
The Karns City Area School District school board will have familiar faces taking the five seats available this election.
According to Butler County’s unofficial Nov. 7 election results, school board president Joshua Price came out on top with 990, or 18.99% of the vote; followed by former board member Denny Kelly, receiving 970 votes, or 18.61%; board vice president Dr. Brenda Ealey with 811 votes, or 15.56%; former board member William Summerville with 782 votes, or 15%; and former member Joseph Boltz with 756, or 14.50%.
Current board member Tara Hackwelder, who was appointed in 2021 to fill an unexpired term, will not retain her seat; she earned 562 votes, or 10.78%. Morgen Mogus, who ran as a Libertarian candidate, brought up the rear with 273 votes, or 5.24%.
Unofficial results from Armstrong County, which also has some voting precincts within the Karns City Area School District, did not sway the results of the winning candidates. In Armstrong County, Kelly received 413 votes; Ealey received 387; Boltz received 386; Price received 335; Summerville received 286; Hackwelder received 238; and Mogus received 129.
In total, Kelly received 1,383 votes; Price received 1,325; Ealey received 1,198; Boltz received 1,142; Summerville received 1,068; Hackwelder received 800; and Mogus received 402.
Kelly said he campaigned hard for the election during the spring primary, indicating his position as a Republican candidate would be an “uphill battle because of the stance of the board, which is more liberal.” He said he would like to make the school board more proactive, instead of reactive.
“It's going to be a bit of a battle, but I think it's a worthwhile one,” he said. “I entertained questions from people (at the polls). People were interested in knowing where you stood on various subjects.”
Hackwelder said she mainly ran a campaign through social media and word-of-mouth. She originally applied to be on the school board because she thought her background in education would be an asset to the Karns City school community. She teaches high school English in Wilmington Area School District, and said her work in education is likely what initially pushed her to be appointed to the board in 2021.
“I am a teacher certified by Pennsylvania; I also have a master's degree in education, as well as in mental health,” she said. “I am a former teacher here, my husband teaches here, I think being established in the community (and) people knowing my record of service helped.”
Mogus is a recent graduate of Karns City Jr./Sr. High School, and said he ran for the school board after being prompted by many people in the area. He said he wanted to promote transparency in the district by pushing to make the schools’ curriculum more accessible for review and for the livestreaming of school board meetings. As chairman of the Butler County Libertarian Party, Mogus said his work in local government will continue despite his loss.
“I hope I can continue to work and recruit people because these elections really matter,” Mogus said. “Just removing some of those barriers and showing the public what we’re doing would be beneficial.”
Price, Ealey, Summerville and Boltz could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
