LIBERTY TWP. — Todd Petrey, the current principal at Creekside Early Childhood School in the Lakota Local School District, has been named the new superintendent of Springboro Community City Schools.

Petrey, 39, of South Lebanon, has served as principal at Creekside for three years. His last day at the school is July 31.

He said he will begin his new job at Springboro Community City Schools on Aug. 1.

Petrey said he decided to leave Lakota’s nearly 18,000 student population to join the smaller Springboro Schools of about 5,400 students because he had previously worked there as a principal at Dennis Elementary School East in Springboro prior to joining the district.

“When it (the position) came open there was some interest initiated from them to me and I went through the interviews and thought, ‘well it is a good fit’ so I decided to go for it.’”

Petrey said he has learned a lot at Lakota.

“Just being a part of Lakota has been such a good experience. Just being able to work under Dr. Karen Mantia (superintendent of Lakota Schools) and get involved with really doing thorough research when it came to looking at budget reductions, and just the process of how it was focused on kids, yet fiscally responsible, that in itself has been just a lifetime of knowledge right there,” he said.

Lakota School Board Member Ray Murray said Petrey’s departure is a “severe loss” to the district.

“He is one of the good guys that has really studied hard. He knows his craft and has went back and studied more. He has more than just a degree. He has a lot of knowledge based on what he’s seen in the past and we’re going to have to work hard to keep other administrators from going to other districts,” he said.

Board Member Joan Powell said the increasing departure of administrators leaving the district is “troubling.”

“I think whenever you have an administrative staff that’s highly respected and is highly qualified and also underpaid as it appears by market standards, that’s pretty much a recipe for turnover,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.