Butler Area School Board votes 7-2 to accept superintendent's resignation

BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — The Butler Area School Board voted 7-2 Monday night to accept the resignation of Superintendent Dr. Dale Lumley.

Lumley turned in his resignation on Feb. 6 with the intent to retire, effective immediately. His resignation comes as the school district continues to cope with a water crisis that occurred under his watch.

Retired superintendent Dr. William Pettigrew is currently serving as acting superintendent until a new one is appointed.

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Summit Township Elementary School students are now attending classes at the once-closed Broad Street Elementary School after test results showed elevated lead leaves in the well water that supplies the school.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection test results from last August showed high lead levels in the well water that supplies the district’s Summit Township Elementary School. Some of the readings showed three times the acceptable levels of lead.

District leaders admitted at a school board meeting that they had known about the testing and the lead concerns despite having only told parents about them in January. As a result, students in kindergarten through fourth grade drank the tainted water for four months.

The presence of E. coli was also found in follow-up tests.

The students are now attending classes at the once-abandoned Broad Street Elementary School, while outside agencies investigating the contaminated water plan to fix the lead, copper and E. coli issues.

Cox Media Group