Clayton County school board members must either resign or adhere to stricter ethical guidelines and procedures if the school district is to keep its accreditation, a law firm hired by the embattled board said Monday.

Several parents, students and community activists seemed to prefer the first option.

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

"Resign!" some yelled during the presentation. The meeting chamber was packed with some 150 audience members, who were not allowed to speak during the board's work session but managed to be heard anyway.

School board members continued to ignore the calls, as they have for the past week.

Monday's work session was the school board's first public gathering since the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools released a report Feb. 15 that recommended the 52,800-student system'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.

Clayton is in jeopardy of becoming the first district in Georgia to lose its accreditation. It would be only the third in the nation to do so in the past 20 years. Without accreditation, students will no longer be eligible for HOPE scholarships and will find it harder to get into some universities. This year's graduating class would not be affected.

The recommendations, made by Glenn Brock, the district's attorney, included:

• The creation of a new citizen oversight committee.

• A full forensic audit of the district's finances.

• Each school board member sign a legal affidavit proving residency.

• Make no inflammatory statements to reporters.

"If board members choose to not resign, they must demonstrate unity," Brock said to applause from the audience.

The nine-member board unanimously approved the recommendations, which were made in response to the SACS report.

Earlier this month, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said Clayton schools are "fatally flawed" citing issues such as micromanaging, misuse of funds, bid tampering and conflicts of interest.

Many audience members cheered and clapped as Richard Greene, hired by the board to help find a permanent superintendent, said a survey of about 1,200 Clayton residents last month found one of the school district's problems is a "dysfunctional" school board.

Greene said he invited all nine school board members to meet with him one-on-one as part of his research. To his chagrin, Greene said, five board members did not meet with him.

"I am shocked, appalled, dismayed and ticked off that only four members of this board had the courage and respect to meet with our team," Greene said.

Greene did not say which board members did not meet with him.

School board members hired former Riverdale High School Principal Gloria Duncan in late July as interim superintendent.