UPDATE(11:54 a.m., Feb. 9, 2012): King said in a released statement, "After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I have chosen not to move forward."

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(Feb. 8, 2012, 7:06 p.m.) IN BRIEF: Rockdale County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Samuel King has withdrawn his application for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System superintendent position, according to an EBRPSS spokesperson. King was the lone finalist in their search for a superintendent. The withdrawal was announced at a EBRPSS school board meeting Wednesday evening. King was reportedly scheduled to come back for a second interview Feb. 14.

EBRPSS board president Barbara Freiberg read an email that King sent Wednesday afternoon, saying he was withdrawing “after careful consultation and additional consultation with my family," reported The Advocate newspaper.

Members of the audience cheered at the announcement, according to WAFB Channel 9.

A board member asked Freiberg if King had been told he did not have enough votes. “Not by me,” Freiberg said, according to reports.

King had emerged as the lone finalist to garner enough votes after a long, contentious debate among the 11 members of the school board.

The current EBRPSS superintendent, whose annual salary is about $225,000, also recently announced he would not serve out the end of his contract and would leave next month. King's current salary is $200,000 with a contractual 5 percent performance bonus last year of about $9,000.