The Butler Tech Board of Education has hired Bill Miller to be the school district’s next superintendent.

Miller has been serving in the capacity of interim superintendent since January of this year, and was one of three candidates the board had interviewed to fill the position on a full time basis.

The board offered Miller a two-year contract that will begin effective immediately and run through July 31, 2015. His salary is $126,250.

“We were committed to finding the best person for the job no matter how broadly we had to search,” said Greg Tyus, board president and Middletown City Schools representative. “We were very fortunate to find the talent and expertise we were looking for right here at Butler Tech.”

The board had been searching for a new superintendent since the resignation of Brett Smith last December.

Miller has more than 32 years of experience as an educator in Butler County, both as a teacher and as an administrator. Most recently, he had been hired this school year at Butler Tech as the assistant director of curriculum.

“I am honored to be chosen as Butler Tech’s next superintendent,” Miller said, “and I’m excited to take on the challenge of leading this organization to new levels of performance and growth.”

Miller’s appointment would seem to conclude a period of controversy and uncertainty regarding Butler Tech’s leadership.

In August, the board voted 6-5 against renewing Smith’s contract following an employee survey revealing a crisis of confidence in the school’s leadership.

An Employee Engagement Index survey conducted in March indicated a “crisis of confidence” in his leadership, showing that only 42 percent of employees expressed confidence in Smith’s administration, concluding “Butler Tech’s leadership has lost credibility.”

Approximately 70 percent of Butler Tech’s 380 employees took part in the survey.

In December, however, the board reversed its decision, voting 6-5 to renew Smith’s contract through July 31, 2015. Smith resigned a week later, citing “personal reasons.”

Butler Tech was founded in 1975 and is Ohio’s second largest career-technical school district. They serve high school students in 10 associate school districts in Butler and Hamilton counties. In the past year, more than 27,000 secondary and adult students have benefited from Butler Tech educational programming.