MONUMENT, Colo. -- Schools in the Monument and the Tri-Lakes area need a new leader despite a last minute plea from concerned parents and teachers.

On Thursday night, the D-38 school board accepted the resignation of Raymond Blanch. In a resignation letter released to the media Blanch states, "what we, as a community, have been able to accomplish over the last four years, in light of mounting financial challenges, has been incredible."

"Ray has set a clear path for our district from an educational standpoint, and he has provided us with the best possible financial security as we face more uncertain financial times," said John Mann, Board of Education President.

Blanch cited personal and professional reasons for making the move but never made a public statement on his resignation during Thursday night's meeting.

Board members called it a collective move for future, but it still angered many in attendance. They believe the board forced his resignation.

"I'm sad to see how a small group has done this to Dr. Blanch," said Michelle Zeutzius, a D-38 parent and Parent Teacher Organization member. "The minority overtook the majority and I don't think you'll see that ever happen again."

Zeutzius is among several who believe discussions over Blanch future were carried out over a handful of executive session meetings that were carried out between board members and Blanch behind closed doors.

"That's going to divide this community because we are the community and this board has acted outside of the realm of community members," said Zeutzius. She points to a community-based website that was able to break the news of Blanch's resignation hours before it became official.

"Things are coming out on the website before they're even being announced in a public meeting how does that happen?" asked Zeutzius.

Opponents of the move say they've already begun gathering signatures to remove three or four board members via recall.

Here's a link to the website mentioned earlier in this article.