A fresh crop of faces has been elected to serve on the Leechburg Area School Board.

And one of the youngest school board members in the Alle-Kiski Valley earned the most votes of eight candidates vying to fill five seats on the board.

Andrew Pallus, 22, received 917 votes in the Nov. 7 election, according to unofficial results from the boards of election for Armstrong and Westmoreland counties.

The voting precincts are Gilpin 1, Gilpin 2 and Leechburg in Armstrong County and West Leechburg in Westmoreland County.

“When I saw I received the highest number of votes, I first had to take a double look,” said Pallus, who was cross-filed. “And when I did, I became ecstatic. I’m also very grateful for those who voted for me because they have the confidence in me that I can serve the community and serve it well.”

James L. Dunmire, who was cross-filed, and Republicans Anthony Townsend and Joseph Lepish earned the most votes after Pallus, at 875, 831 and 775, respectively to earn board seats.

Melanie Knight, who was cross-filed, earned 707 votes to edge out longtime incumbent Democrat Neill Brady, with 690 votes for the final position on the board.

Board members are unpaid and serve four-year terms.

“I think these new faces were elected because our communities are ready for change,” Pallus said. “After being in the same stagnant state for the past couple of years, the constituents were ready to see something different, something new.”

Townsend, 55, brings a master’s degree in special education to his new role as board member.

“I’d like to thank the Leechburg community for their support coming out to vote. I’m looking forward to a smooth transition of the new school board in December as well as working together with the other board members for the betterment of the LASD,” he said.

Former board member Karen Freilino was on the ballot despite resigning Sept. 20.

Freilino’s resignation followed the resignation of Matthew Jagodrinski, who left in July.

In a written statement Monday, Brady bid farewell to his constituents after serving on the board for 20 years.

“Thank you for allowing me to serve. I’ve made friends — and enemies,” Brady wrote. “However, my actions and decisions have always been made in the interest of, first, the students; second, the taxpayers; third, the parents; and fourth, the teachers, staff and administration.

Brady addressed an issue that surfaced during the primary and during the campaign surrounding accusations from some of his political opponents that he failed to pay taxes.

“I thought I had no outstanding taxes, but, thanks to people who were checking on their opponents, they found that I had an outstanding balance from 2017,” Brady said.

Brady noted he paid school taxes in 2017 on two properties totaling $4,079.70 and said he missed payment on county and borough taxes in the amount of $1,932.79.

“I promptly paid the tax with appropriate penalty,” Brady said. “I do apologize for the oversight as it enabled my opponents to use it cleverly at the polls to their advantage.

“Congrats to them. I never professed to be perfect, but I’m proud to be a Leechburger and having sent my children to Leechburg schools and now my grandchildren to a Blue Ribbon School.”

Pallus said Monday he plans to bring the issue of nepotism to the forefront.

“Not because we have a problem but so that there’s never a problem,” he said.

Pallus noted other issues affecting the district that he plans to prioritize.

“I want to tackle the bullying problem, have better board-to-community communication and greater financial transparency,” he said.

The new members will join incumbents Ashley Coudriet, Darius Lovelace, Tom Maxin and Candi Stewart.

Brady said he plans to attend the board meetings as a resident.

“As a fully paid taxpayer, too,” Brady said.

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