(ABC 6 News) – For some time now, Byron parents and concerned community members have been fed up with Superintendent Dr. Mike Neubeck’s leadership.

Now, they’re taking it a step further with a petition calling for his resignation.

RELATED: Petition calls for Byron Schools Superintendent to resign

“The community wants answers, they’re not getting answers,” said creator of the petition, Amber Freese.

Freese is a former Byron student, now with a young child beginning her own journey through the Byron school system. She started the petition to raise awareness of the issues plaguing the district and to hopefully get some answers from leadership.

“I’m hoping we can get somebody new in that has a little more maybe experience or oversight and not let things slip through the cracks again,” said Freese.

Those on board with getting Neubeck to resign say their biggest concerns are the way Neubeck has handled the district’s financial struggles and his lack of transparency to the community regarding his actions.

“We’re now at 17 months since a reconciled budget has been shared with the community, and despite the audit being done, he hasn’t shared that information with the board or the community,” said former Byron school board member and supporter of the petition, Chris Schmitt.

Schmitt recently spoke with Neubeck about the district’s money problems, after other members of the community brought their concerns to her.

“He explained that an error had been made at the negotiations table in September of 2023 that cost the district somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 per month, and that those errors weren’t discovered until February,” said Schmitt.

Schmitt also says a data request she filed with the district in the last four months was filled incomplete and contained personal information of staff and community members that should have been redacted.

On Monday, Schmitt filed a complaint against Neubeck with the Minnesota Department of Education, hoping it will spark an investigation into Neubeck and an audit from the state.

Neubeck declined multiple interview requests in recent weeks about the district’s financial situation, referendum and this petition.

However, following the school board meeting on Monday, November 18, he did respond to calls for his resignation during the public comment period saying, “Everyone has their opinions about what happened, some, some people you know are angry and I understand that.”

Freese and Schmitt both say there’s nothing Neubeck can do at this point to convince them he’s fit for the role of superintendent.

“I feel like he’s kinda lost a lot of trust in a lot of people right now that it’d be really hard to gain that back,” said Freese.

“Everybody deserves a second chance, but I think that right now he’s a burden to our community and isn’t helpful,” said Schmitt.

At the next school board meeting on December 2, the board chair is expected to give a summary of the closed session the board held after its last meeting on November 18, where it discussed Neubeck’s performance evaluation.