HOOVER – Hoover City Schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy will remain in her position after she was passed over for the state’s top education post.

The Alabama Board of Education, of which Gov. Kay Ivey is president, voted on April 20 for Eric Mackey to become the new state superintendent of education.

Murphy was one of three finalists who interviewed for the position, along with Jefferson County Superintendent Craig Pouncey.

Five board members voted for Mackey, who was serving as executive director of the Superintendent Association of Alabama, with the remaining four votes cast for Pouncey.

Murphy’s contract with Hoover was extended two years by the HCS Board of Education in March 2017, through June 2020.

She earns $198,700 per year.

Murphy, in her third year in the position, scored a 4.3 overall on a 5-point scale in an evaluation announced in March and performed by the Alabama Association of School Boards.

Prior to her time with HCS, Murphy was the superintendent of Monroe County Public Schools beginning in 2011.

She began her career as a physical education teacher with Auburn City Schools in 1984, and then served in numerous administrative roles with both Troy City Schools and Butler County Schools. She also taught at the college level.