An external candidate vying for the Clark County School District’s superintendent job has withdrawn his name from the finalist pool.

A school district official confirmed Monday that John Deasy, the former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, no longer wants to be considered for Clark County’s top education job. The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported his withdrawal.

Deasy’s decision comes the morning after the School Board of Trustees decided to extend the search timeline and add internal candidates to the mix.

Trustee Carolyn Edwards said Gary Ray, chairman of the Iowa-based search firm hired by the district, received a call in the middle of the night from Deasy, who announced his intention to withdraw. Deasy’s reason for doing so was not immediately clear.

Board members had discussed whether expanding the finalist pool would irk some of the external contenders, but they ultimately decided it was better to vet both outsiders and local candidates for the job.

“Superintendent searches are very political in nature; they’re always high profile,” Edwards said. “I respect his decision, but I’m hopeful the other three candidates will remain in the running.”

Deasy’s background already had drawn some concern. He’s credited with increasing student achievement while leading the Los Angeles school district, but he was dogged by poor relationships with teachers and a technology controversy involving iPads, according to reports from The Los Angeles Times.

Nevada State Education Association President Ruben Murillo said in a tweet Wednesday that Deasy "must never" become Clark County superintendent with the hashtag #notodeasy.

"This is the best the CCSD Superintendent search firm could find? Do we really want to be LAUSD?" Murillo said in the tweet.

Deasy was one of four finalists named by the search firm last week. The others are Donald Haddad, superintendent of St. Vrain Valley Schools in Longmont, Colorado; Shonda Huery Hardman, who previously worked as an administrator in several large districts; and Jesus Jara, deputy superintendent of Orange County Public Schools in Orlando.

Disclosure: The Nevada State Education Assoc. has donated to The Nevada Independent. You can see a full list of donors here.