BATON ROUGE — A group of parents and school employees filed recall petitions Friday against five East Baton Rouge Parish School Board members after the district's search for a new superintendent went stagnant. 

The following school board members had petitions filed for their recall with the Secretary of State's office:

- Mark Bellue (District 1)
- Nathan Rust (District 6)
- Michael Gaudet (District 7)
- Emily Soulé (District 8)
- Patrick Martin (District 9)

Each petition said the board member involved was "not listening to the concerns of the voters of the district."

The number of signatures required on the recall petitions is different for each member, dependent upon how many voters are in each district. The final figures needed will be certified Monday through the East Baton Rouge Registrar of Voter's office. 

The petitioners included parents, teachers and East Baton Rouge school staff. Some said the petition wasn't about forcing board members to choose Smith, but about showing the school board, the community has a voice.

"I'm frustrated because that is their job to listen to their constituents," One woman said. We put you in office. We can take you out."

Under state law, districts with fewer than 25,000 registered voters need 33.3% of voters to call a recall election, and districts with 25,000 and up require 25%. Bellue, Rust and Soulé's districts would require 25% of voters to sign the petitions to initiate a recall, while Gaudet and Martin require 33.3%. 

According to figures compiled from the most recent elections by the Secretary of State, the approximate number of signatures required for each targeted board member would be:

- Bellue: 6,473 signatures
- Rust: 7,729 signatures
- Gaudet: 8,252 signatures
- Soulé: 8,387 signatures
- Martin: 6,586 signatures

The petitions have 180 days after being filed to collect signatures for a recall election to be triggered. The petitions target each Republican on the nine-person panel.

The group expressed their concerns and plans for the recall after the events of Thursday's special meeting originally meant to decide on a new superintendent ended with five members abstaining.

"If Adam is not your guy then don't go with Adam," parent and activist Storm Matthews said. "Go with whoever your guy is, but make sure you stand as strong as you possibly can for whatever it is you believe in, so they don't slip in somebody that's going to take you over."

Members of the group filing the recall petitions held a press conference outside of the Secretary of State's office Friday  and said they worry that the school board does not have the interests of the educators and students in mind. They object to two candidates selected as finalists—Kevin George, the director of the LSU Lab School, and Andrea Zayas, the former chief academic officer for the Boston school system. 

All members petitioned for recall voted for George, except Gaudet, who abstained. At the Thursday meeting, Gaudet said he would not vote because the process was not granted enough time to choose a proper successor for the superintendent role.

Multiple members of the group called to have interim superintendent Adam Smith, who was left out from the list of finalists. 

Another vote on the superintendent is set for next Thursday, five days before Smith's term as interim superintendent ends.

Members of the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers have said they plan a sickout for the first day of school on Aug. 8 if Smith is not chosen as the leader of the school system.