Former Waipahu High School principal Keith Hayashi, who has been serving as state interim superintendent of public schools since last August, was selected tonight from among three finalists to continue as the permanent state superintendent.

After a state Board of Education special meeting spanning almost 12 hours — including nearly two hours of occasionally contentious public testimony punctuated by three recesses to restore order — Hayashi was appointed after deeply divided debate among the nine voting members of the state Board of Education.

The board took three initial nonbinding straw votes that suggested shifting sentiments during deliberations. But Hayashi prevailed narrowly over California educational consultant Caprice Young. Longtime educator Darrel Galera was a distant third in straw poll voting.

>> PHOTOS: Keith Hayashi chosen as superintendent

The appointment is set to go into effect July 1. Hayashi’s salary and other contract details will be negotiated later, state Board of Education Chairperson Catherine Payne said, but the state Legislature has set a maximum salary of $250,000 a year for the job. Hayashi’s predecessor, Christina Kishimoto, worked for $240,000 per year on a three-year contract that was extended for one year.

Hayashi, a 33-year veteran of the state Department of Education, will continue to oversee Hawaii’s public school system, the nation’s only statewide school district, which is widely considered the 10th largest in the nation. The Hawaii DOE has 171,000 students and 42,600 employees in 257 regular public schools and 37 charter schools, and an annual operating budget of more than $2 billion.