East Lyme - The Board of Education unanimously voted Monday to hire Jeffrey R. Newton as the district's new superintendent of schools.

Newton, the superintendent of schools in Hebron and a graduate of East Lyme High School, will join the school district April 1, 2015, after Superintendent James Lombardo retires on March 31.

"I want to thank the board very much. This is a wonderful opportunity to be able to come back to East Lyme," said Newton, who attended Monday's meeting with his wife and three daughters. "There is such excellence that happens in this district."

Prior to his time in Hebron, Newton was director of special services for Westbrook Public Schools and before then served as assistant principal and principal at the Dr. Charles E. Murphy School in Oakdale. He has a bachelor's degree from Keene State College and a master's degree in special education from Southern Connecticut State University. He received a sixth-year certificate from Sacred Heart University and a superintendent certificate from University of Connecticut.

After electing the new superintendent on Monday, the board also voted to approve an employment agreement with Newton, which Board of Education Chairman Tim Hagen said would soon be signed.

The board then voted to revise a memorandum of understanding between the board and Lombardo. The agreement will allow Lombardo to remain at the district through March. The original memorandum of understanding had stipulated that Lombardo, who had previously announced plans to retire earlier, would stay through February.

Hagen thanked Lombardo for extending his stay to help the district with a transition to a new superintendent.

"It's absolutely been outstanding and wonderful to work with Dr. Lombardo over these years and also for him to be so understanding and flexible during this period of change," said Hagen.

Lombardo has served as the district's superintendent since 2009 and was previously the superintendent of the Bensalem Township School District in Pennsylvania.

The Superintendent Search Ad Hoc Committee, a subcommittee of the Board of Education, along with the New England School Development Council, has been guiding the search process. Hagen said the board considered 14 candidates and interviewed six. When it came down to two finalists for the position, Newton was interviewed three times, including by teachers and administrators while the school board observed.

In an interview after the meeting, Newton said that it was a very difficult decision to leave the Hebron school district after only two years, but the opportunity to serve as superintendent in the town where he grew up was one he couldn't turn down.

"The chance to come here and lead the district that gave me my educational foundation is phenomenal," he said.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich