The leading candidate for the Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent job has bowed out just three days after his candidacy was made public.
Andrew Houlihan, the chief academic officer of the Houston Independent School District, has taken himself out of the running, according to a statement from Board of Education President Patricia O'Neill.
"On Sunday, May 17, 2015, Dr. Andrew Houlihan informed the Montgomery County Board of Education that he is withdrawing from consideration as superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools," O'Neill said in a statement.
"The Board appreciates Dr. Houlihan's interest in the position and wishes him the best of luck in the future," O'Neill said. "The board will continue to focus on a search for the next superintendent of schools."
O'Neill announced Houlihan as the "preferred candidate" for the job on Thursday.
Houlihan met with County Executive Ike Leggett, County Council President George Leventhal and council Education Committee Chairman Craig Rice on Friday.
Leventhal said he was impressed with Houlihan during the hour-long meeting despite the 36-year-old having never served as a superintendent before.
"Everybody's first reaction, including mine, is you're going to look at him and say, 'My goodness, he's young,'" Leventhal said. "But I think he has a real strength and I think he's committed to the issues that we care about, success for all students and addressing the achievement gap."
O'Neill has said the board hopes to have a new superintendent in place by July 1.
The board declined to renew previous superintendent Joshua Starr’s contract in February. Starr had served as the school system’s chief since 2011.
