Pete Cahall, the former principal at Washington’s Wilson High School who left abruptly in December, will lead Montgomery County’s Thomas Edison High School of Technology.

The Montgomery County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night to appoint Cahall as principal of the county’s only stand-alone career and technical school.

“They welcomed me with open arms,” Cahall said Tuesday. “Montgomery County feels like home to me.”

The former D.C. principal made national headlines last year when he came out as gay to his students during a public Pride Day event. In December, he announced that his contract would not be renewed for next school year because of test-score performance at the Northwest Washington school.

[From the archives: Wilson High principal comes out as gay at school’s Pride Day.]

Cahall intended to work through the end of his contract, but families received a letter from Chancellor Kaya Henderson during winter break that he had resigned effective immediately. His departure sparked mixed emotions.

He was popular with many parents and students, who credit him with creating an orderly environment throughout a major renovation and despite serious crowding at the school, but the Washington Teachers’ Union reported frustration and dissatisfaction among many Wilson teachers.

Cahall, who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., worked in Montgomery County before he came to the District. He was principal of Rocky Hill Middle School and Watkins Mill High School before working in the central office for a year as director of school performance. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee hired Cahall in 2008 to lead the city’s largest high school.

“I am pleased he’s coming back,” said Mike Durso, a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education who was a principal at Wilson in the 1980s. “I think he will be able to do a lot of good things at Edison.”

Cahall will arrive at Edison during a pivotal time. The school is embarking on a renovation and the county is working to rethink and expand the role that career training plays in Maryland’s largest school system.

Edison serves about 500 students, but it has the capacity for many more. Students divide their time between their home schools, where they take core academic classes, and the career academy.

His start date is scheduled for July 1, but he plans to “dig in” immediately and begin thinking about ways to increase the school’s enrollment and plan for the future, he said.

“We are taking a hard look at programming and making sure we are thinking ahead by 10 or 20 years,” he said.

Kim Bayliss, the president of the Parent Teacher Student Organization at Wilson, said she was glad to hear about his new job.

“It sounds like it’s perfect for him,” she said. “There’s a lot of continuing care and respect and admiration for him at Wilson.”