One of the two finalists for the Kansas Education Commissioner’s job has withdrawn from consideration.

Retiring Manhattan-Ogden Schools Supt. Sharol Little told the State Board of Education on Wednesday that she had decided to take a superintendent’s job in Colorado.

State Board of Education Chairman Steve Abrams said members would revisit the vacancy at its meeting in two weeks.

Board member Bill Wagnon, a Democrat from Topeka, said Little has had controversies while serving as superintendent in Manhattan, Dodge City and Winfield. Conservatives on the board have often clashed with the other finalist, Alexa Posny, an assistant commissioner.

On Wed-nesday, the board announced it would continue its search for a new commissioner. Abrams described both candidates as excellent, but said board members wanted more time for discussion. Wagnon said the board was reopening the entire process of hiring a new commissioner.

The new commissioner takes over as the state faces ongoing litigation over public-school funding, and the board’s controversy over science standards and the teaching of evolution.