Libby Elementary School has a new principal for the 2026-27 school year.

Timberly Kelly will take the reins of leadership following her selection by school trustees at its last meeting.

Kelly was one of three candidates interviewed by the trustees. 

Kelly, a native from Northwest Montana in Paradise, has an impressive resume with a 30-year career of teaching and working as an administrator in Montana schools.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to be back in Northwestern Montana for sure,” Kelly said. “My husband and I have deep roots in this part of the state. My husband's mother, Patricia (Palmer) Kelly, grew up in Libby, and his father grew up in Paradise. My parents moved here from Hamilton before I was born. I grew up in Paradise, went to Paradise Grade School through eighth grade, then graduated from Plains High School.”

Kelly also shared that her mother-in-law’s sister Val and brother-in-law Bill Johnston were a well-established part of the Libby community.

Following her graduation from Plains, Kelly attended the University of Montana in Missoula, received her BA in Elementary Education with a Spanish Minor, and returned to teach in Paradise, first as a kindergarten teacher and later as a multi-grade-level teacher. 

“I taught Title 1 Math in Plains for a year, then took some time off to be a stay-at-home mom to our four children,” Kelly said. “When our youngest was in kindergarten, I returned to teaching in St. Regis where I taught Spanish for grades 7-12 and STEM courses for grades 6-8 (Robotics and Design & Modeling). At that same time, I was taking classes to get my Masters Degree in Education Leadership. I finished that in 2018. 

Kelly’s experience in school administration began in 2019.

She got her first administrative job in 2019 as the K-6 principal at Box Elder. She then worked as the superintendent and principal at Plevna in 2022-23 and was the budget manager at Plevna before becoming the principal at Harlem.

“My administrative work took us all around the state for the next six years,” Kelly said. “Although we did our fair share of outdoor activities everywhere we went, it is nice to be back home where the mountains are nearby and trees are plentiful. That being said, I have to admit that I will miss the huge sky in Eastern Montana and the fact that the sun shines almost every day, even in winter.”

Kelly said the family moved back to their home in St. Regis in May of 2025 because of a job opportunity for her husband that required them to live in Northwest Montana. 

“I applied for the job in Libby because it works well with that plan and because Libby Schools is a great place to be. Our last child just graduated high school and we are looking forward to what the future holds.”

Superintendent Ron Goodman was pleased with the decision.

“Her qualifications are superlative,” Goodman said. “Ms. Kelly has experience building school systems and many of her strengths match the goals that we were looking for. I believe the Board was happy to offer the contract to Ms. Kelly and I am looking forward to working with the new principals at LMHS and LES.”

The school began its search for a new principal after the abrupt resignation last month of Jeanine Kidwell at the end of the 2025-26 school year. Kidwell, who joined Libby Elementary in 2021 as the principal, returned to Texas after accepting the assistant principal job at Bandera Middle School. Bandera is located about 50 miles northwest of San Antonio.

Kelly joins new high school principal Bill Brist as a new administrator in the Libby Public Schools system. Brist was the associate principal and activities director at Baker High School in Fallon County prior to coming to Libby. He took interim principal Scott Beagle’s spot. Beagle assumed secondary school principal responsibilities after Jim Germany resigned Dec. 30, 2024, following an accusation that he struck a sleeping student on Dec. 9, 2024. Germany eventually reached a pre-trial diversion agreement with the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office. The charge was ultimately dropped after Germany achieved the terms of the agreement.