Linda Lane, deputy superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools, has turned down the opportunity to head the Iowa Department of Education.

"I was very honored that they selected me and I was very interested in [the job], but they had a need for me to make an immediate start," said Dr. Lane, the second-in-command who oversees instruction, assessment and accountability in the city schools.

Hired by Superintendent Mark Roosevelt in 2006, Dr. Lane is a former elementary school teacher in Iowa City and in the Des Moines Public Schools, where her career spanned three decades, including a stint as deputy superintendent of the district from 2003 to 2006.

According to the Des Moines Register, Dr. Lane, 61, was one of five candidates a search committee interviewed for the state's top education post. Gov. Chet Culver made an offer only to her.

She turned it down on Friday.

"Given the fact that there are still things I have committed to finishing here and that [Iowa] wanted me to start immediately, I couldn't take the job," said Dr. Lane, a native of Morgantown, W.Va.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.