Darrel Galera — the retired public school principal who has been the center of controversy in the state’s search for a new schools superintendent — has withdrawn his application amid complaints that he had an unfair advantage as a former Board of Education member and friend of Gov. David Ige.

“I have decided (to) withdraw my application so the search can continue without the distraction caused by my application,” Galera said in an email this afternoon to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “My overarching goal is to transform our education system to provide our students with educational opportunities that are second to none.”

He did not respond to a request for further comment, but added a “sincere apology” to the governor, Board of Education members “and to everyone else affected by the timing of my actions.”

Galera announced last week that he was resigning from the Board of Education to apply for the schools chief position — a decision that touched off a chain reaction that led the board to halt the search late last week.

Shortly after Galera’s announced plans to apply, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation said it was pulling back a $50,500 grant it had awarded to help the Board of Education hire a search firm, citing concerns about the “integrity” of the search. The board in turn decided to suspend the search.

The board was scheduled to formally initiate the search Friday by posting the job advertisement. But in an announcement posted on its website Friday, the board said its search committee had suspended the search following the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation’s decision.

“The Search Committee is delaying the search process while evaluating the current situation and working to resolve issues surrounding Harold K.L. Castle Foundation’s financial support of the Superintendent search process,” the BOE’s online update said. “As part of this, the position will not be posted (March 10) as originally anticipated under the search timeline. We appreciate the support of the foundation and are hopeful that the issues can be resolved and the foundation can continue its support of a fair and transparent search for the Superintendent.”