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RALEIGH, N.C. – The superintendent for the Wake County Public School System may be forced out earlier than he expected.

Del Burns announced his resignation earlier this week. Some on the new majority on the school board, like John Tedesco, say they aren't sure they can work with Burns over the next few months after his criticism of the board.

Burns said Tuesday he would stay on until the end of June.

"We had asked him to stay, we had asked him to stay involved in what we were doing. He has chosen to move in this direction,” Tedesco said. “He has further chosen to go outside the bounds of his job description and engage in public policy debate.”

Burns spoke out about his choice to leave, saying he couldn't carry out the board's decisions because it conflicted with his personal beliefs about the system's socioeconomic diversity policy.

Many new board members ran in opposition to the policy, favoring neighborhood schools. They now have the majority, creating what Burns considers to be political controversy.

"The board and the behavior of the board with regard to politics has become an issue. I've not seen a board of education in this system operate from such a partisan, political manner,” Burns said in an interview with News 14 Carolina Thursday.

Tedesco said that presents a problem.

"He does the day-to-day operations of the system. He implements the policies of the board,” Tedesco said. “He said he can't do it anymore. Then why do I need him there for four months doing it?"

Members of the board's minority say they stand behind Burns and his four years of work leading the school system. They say they'll fight any efforts to force him out before June.

"I don't see how that is going to happen, could happen, should happen,” school board member Keith Sutton said. “I really don't think they have the grounds."

Tedesco says it's up to school system attorneys to decide if they do have the grounds to force Burns to leave early. He just wants a new leader to move Wake County Schools forward.

"We're going to look for a leader that implements the policies of this board, that is for certain, and we're going to look for a leader who understands the business of education is about performance for every single child in Wake County,” Tedesco said.

Tedesco said board members plan to meet with attorneys in the coming week to discuss how long Burns could stay on as superintendent.

There is a special board meeting to discuss personnel issues Tuesday at 5 p.m. It will be closed to the public.

Burns followed the terms of his contract by giving at least a 90-day notice of his resignation.