A Clayton County school board member does not seem to live in Clayton as required by state law and was arrested in December in a domestic dispute, officials said Wednesday.

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Norreese Haynes, a Clayton County School Board member, insists he resides in Clayton as required by law, but police say he appears to live elsewhere.

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Norreese Haynes, who represents District 8 in Morrow and Lake City, might live in Marietta, Clayton County Police Chief Jeffrey Turner said Wednesday night.

"There does seem to be some discrepancy where Norreese Haynes lives," Turner said. "From our investigation, it appears he does not live in the county. According to the people who live at the residence he listed, he has never slept in that residency."

Haynes denies the accusation and says he lives in Clayton County.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools two weeks ago threatened to revoke Clayton schools' accreditation effective Sept. 1. The agency cited several board members, including Haynes, for a series of unethical behavior, including abuse of power, micromanaging, misuse of funds and conflict of interest.

The accusations about Haynes' possible Cobb County residency surfaced when Clayton officials learned the board member was arrested in December in a domestic dispute in Marietta.

Haynes said Wednesday night he was "falsely" charged with simple battery after a dispute over a woman with whom he was romantically involved.

Haynes said the fight was "self-defense" and is "confident that the charges will be dropped."

"A man whom I have known for a few years and I had always considered a friend engaged in an intemperate outburst and charged at me," Haynes said in a written statement. "I had no choice but to throw my arms up in defense to protect myself and take him to the ground to restrain him."

Marietta police spokesman Officer Mark Bishop said Wednesday night he had no information on the arrest. The police report was unavailable Wednesday night.

Clayton School Board attorney Glenn Brock confirmed the arrest and said he was looking into it. He said he also is reviewing the residency issue.

"This is an allegation right now," Brock said. "State law says you must live in the county you represent, and county ordinance says board members must live in the district they represent during their entire term."

Establishing that all school board members are legal residents of Clayton County is one of the nine requirements the school district must address to hold on to its accreditation, SACS said in its Feb. 15 report.

"The investigation raised significant questions regarding the eligibility of certain board members to hold their elected seats," SACS wrote. "If there is evidence that any member of the board does not meet the residency requirement the individual should be removed from the board immediately and the legal process to replace this board member should be initiated."

Clayton County police are looking at each of the nine members' residences to see if they match the addresses listed on the affidavits they signed when running for office. The investigation is ongoing and criminal charges could be filed, Turner said.

"If any of them falsified their election affidavit, that's a violation of oath of office and making false statements," Turner said.

On Wednesday, Clayton Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell delivered the Clayton police report on Haynes to school board attorneys. Board chairwoman Ericka Davis referred comment to the attorneys.

On Tuesday, Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel launched an investigation into the election of the nine school board members. Gov. Sonny Perdue asked Handel to look into whether the elections complied with state law and if board members reside in their districts.

Turner said his officers will work with the state investigators.

Clayton Tax Commissioner Terry Baskin said he is scheduled to complete a probe into the residency of school board member Lois Baines-Hunter on Friday.

Baskin said he received complaints that Baines-Hunter lives in Hampton, which is outside her district. She also owns a home in her Jonesboro district but has not paid her 2007 taxes for the property, according to tax records.

Baines-Hunter did not return phone calls Wednesday.

The county's largest teachers union and the Clayton Student Coalition, a group of high school students, have asked Haynes and Baines-Hunter as well as Rod Johnson and Sandra Scott to resign. The Clayton Chamber of Commerce has asked all nine members to step down.

Parents and students are scheduled to march Saturday morning in Clayton County to demand resignations of all nine.

Haynes, who was elected in 2006, said he will not step down.

"No matter what someone says about me and no matter what kind of political games they try to play with me, I am remaining on the Clayton County Board of Education," he said Wednesday.

SACS also questioned Haynes for his role as executive director of the Metro Association of Classroom Educators, an area teachers' union.