NEW YORK

Although she resigned before it even opened, Debbie Almontaser says she is still the person best suited to oversee the city's first Arabic-themed public school.

She wants to reclaim her job as principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy, which she left this summer amid a furor over an interview she had given. But city education officials said she would not get the job back.

"In August, Ms. Almontaser said she resigned as principal ... to protect the stability of the school and give it 'the full opportunity to flourish,'" Department of Education spokesman David Cantor said Tuesday in a statement. "Chancellor (Joel Klein) agreed with her decision, accepted her resignation, and now considers the matter closed."

Almontaser does not. She said Tuesday she planned to reapply for the job.

"As ... the person who envisioned the school, I believe I am the person most qualified to be its educational leader," she said in her first public comments since resigning.

The academy, named for the Lebanese Christian poet and peace advocate, has a focus on Arabic and Arab culture. Protests arose almost immediately after education officials announced plans in February to open it.

Almontaser left in August after she was criticized for not explicitly condemning the use of the word "intifada" on T-shirts made by a youth organization. Intifada is an Arabic term commonly used to refer to the Palestinian uprising against Israel.

Almontaser, a longtime New York City educator and a Muslim of Yemeni descent, said at a news conference outside City Hall Tuesday that her "American dream" to help establish the school "turned into an American nightmare."

She said a New York Post reporter "aggressively" tried to get comment from her in August about T-shirts with "Intifada NYC" written on them. The shirts were made by Arab Women in the Arts and Media.

The reporter asked her about the origin of the word "intifada," and she told him that the root word means "shake off," Almontaser said. She said she explained to the reporter that "intifada" has different meanings for different people, but that given the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the word implied violence.