JEFFERSON TWP — The South Butler School District lost its superintendent on Monday, but hired a new one Wednesday night.

South Butler Assistant Superintendent Mike Leitera will become the new superintendent in July.

After meeting in executive session for more than an hour during a special meeting Wednesday night, the school board unanimously approved him for a five-year contract.

“I am deeply humbled by the confidence shown in me by the board of directors of the South Butler County School District,” Leitera said in a statement.

He has a starting salary of $130,000 per year, but he make $5,000 more per year once he receives his doctoral degree, which Leitera expects to get in December from Youngstown State University.

He was appointed to the position immediately after Superintendent Dale Lumley’s resignation was approved.

On Monday Lumley was hired to become the superintendent for the Butler School District. He starts that job July 1.

Leitera was hired in January 2011 as assistant superintendent for the district. Before working at South Butler, he was a high school principal in the Riverside School District and a social studies teacher in the Seneca Valley School District.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University and a masters from Youngstown State.

Leitera lives in Shenango Township, Lawrence County, with his wife, Wendy, and their three sons.

Now the South Butler district will look for a new assistant superintendent. That effort with be led by the district human resources consultant, MaryAnn Marchi.