Saying he believed that with the state's help, the Clayton County school system can enact reforms to meet a Sept. 1 deadline to avoid the loss of accreditation, Gov. Sonny Perdue today outlined a series of steps to help the troubled district.

Perdue said he is appointing two special liaisons to advise Clayton and help it meet the demands set forth last week by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Clayton County schools headlines: • Photos: Timeline of Clayton schools' woes Union members protest Clayton school pick  Retired Marine says he's a contender for Clayton schools chief  Clayton poised to hire retired Marine as superintendent  Clayton schools regain accreditation  Clayton schools to get $25M in federal aid  • AJC editorial: Less hope Read the full report to SACS: • Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Large PDFs) Read SACS' report (PDF) Clayton County news

William "Brad" Bryant and James Bostic Jr., members of the state Board of Education, will assist Clayton schools and make regular reports on their progress to Perdue, the governor said at a news conference this afternoon in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, state agencies will conduct the independent audits called for by SACS to help Clayton retain its accreditation.

The state auditor's office will review the finances of Clayton schools, while the Governor's Office on Student Achievement will look at attendance records, the governor said.

Perdue also said he has asked Secretary of State Karen C. Handel to audit the elections of members of the Clayton school board to ensure they complied with state law. Issues of residency have been raised about some board members.

And Perdue said his office is drafting legislation that would give residents the power to vote in a special election to remove an entire school board if a district loses its accreditation. Under present law, the only option voters have is to petition for a vote to recall individual board members.

Under the proposed law, if a school board is tossed out, new, interim members would be appointed by the state Board of Education and would serve until regular elections could be held, Perdue said.

The Clayton County Education Association, a teachers union and affiliate of the Georgia Association of Educators, has called for four of nine members of Clayton's school board members to resign.

The Georgia NAACP this week called on the entire board to resign or "immediately implement" the nine requirements SACS outlined for the district to keep its accreditation. And some residents are circulating petitions seeking the recall of all nine school board members.

Perdue said his office also is looking at ways to help older students who might become ineligible for state-sponsored HOPE college scholarships if their schools lose their accreditation.

SACS investigated allegations of allegations of micromanaging, misuse of funds, abuse of power, bid tampering and conflict of interest and last week issued a scathing report, finding Clayton schools "fatally flawed" and recommending that the district's accreditation be revoked effective Sept. 1.

The National Accreditation Commission will review SACS' findings and vote March 15 whether to strip Clayton of its accreditation. If that happens, Clayton would be the first district in Georgia to lose its accreditation and only the third in the nation in the past 20 years.

Older students would be particularly affected. Besides the possible loss of HOPE scholarships, they would find it harder to get into some universities and would have difficulty transferring to high schools in other districts. (This year's graduating class would not be affected.)

Noting the Clayton schools went through a similar SACS accreditation controversy several years ago, Perdue today expressed his concern and frustration and said the latest crisis was a signal something needed to be done.

The governor said he did not want the state to seize control of the district, but to help it avoid losing its accreditation.

In a prepared statement, state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said, "I fully endorse the initiatives announced by Gov. Perdue today and pledge the full cooperation and support of the Georgia Department of Education."

The department is researching ways to help students, and Cox said she soon would meet with Clayton lawmakers to discuss the schools crisis.

Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said this afternoon that he was happy to see the governor stepping it, but would have liked to have known about Perdue's plans ahead of time.

"It would have been even stronger if he had added local persons from the community to be part of his efforts," Bell said.

State Rep. Mike Glanton (D-Ellenwood) said that Perdue's proposed legislation would be a "catch-all." Although the measure cannot be retroactive, he said that getting it passed is "just as important, because it sends a message to SACS and the community that we are addressing SACS' concerns."

Jeff Hubbard, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, described the events in Clayton as a "tragedy" for the system's 52,000 students and more than 10,000 employees and the governor's proposals "some good first steps."

The problem, Hubbard said, is not with the schools, teachers or administrators but with some school board members who have placed their personal interest ahead of what's best for students.

"Our students don't need this, our schools don't need this, and our community doesn't need this," Hubbard said.