South Butler super leaves
JEFFERSON TWP — South Butler Superintendent Mike Leitera has accepted the superintendent position at the Mohawk School District in Lawrence County.
He is leaving the South Butler School District after one year as superintendent.
Leitera, 44, who lives in Shenango Township, Lawrence County, has a five-year contract that began July 1, starting at $122,000 a year. His salary will be prorated this school year, dependent on his start date.
“It’s just a lot closer to my family. And certainly, the district is enticing. It’s a nice district with good people and good kids,” said Leitera, who is a lifelong Lawrence County resident.
“It’s no negative on South Butler. It’s just positive that it’s very close to my home, and I’m closer to family and friends.”
He added: “I really enjoyed my time at South Butler. I think the kids are outstanding. I think there’s a very strong sense of pride in the school district, and I’m very grateful of the opportunity South Butler gave me.”
He plans on staying with the district through August, and perhaps a few weeks into September to ease with the beginning of the school year.
Leitera began at South Butler as an assistant superintendent in 2011. He took the superintendent job last year when Dale Lumley left to become superintendent of the Butler School District.
At that time, Leitera was given a five-year contract starting at $130,000 per year.
Leitera said he’s proud of a lot of his accomplishments during his South Butler tenure.
“I think we’ve done a good job of continually rising (standardized test) scores, a greater emphasis on data-driven decision making. We certainly cut costs in many areas of the budget, and I think we really tried to aim at a more student-centered environment,” he said.
Before Leitera worked at South Butler, he was a social studies teacher in the Seneca Valley School District and a principal in the Riverside School District in Beaver County.
About 1,500 students are enrolled in the Mohawk School District. South Butler has about 2,500 students.
Leitera and his wife, Wendy, have three sons.
South Butler School Board meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, where superintendent transition plans will likely be discussed.
