The two finalists for Clayton County schools temporary superintendent don't have what it takes to salvage the district's accreditation, the head of the accreditation agency said Thursday.

Neither John W. Thompson nor Santiago V. Wood is the leader the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools wants to see at the helm of Clayton schools, said Mark A. Elgart, the agency's president and chief executive officer.

One of the men could be hired at an expected school board meeting Saturday, but there were conflicting reports Thursday whether Thompson has withdrawn from consideration because the board would not meet his requests.

Thompson declined to comment Thursday, referring questions to his lawyer. The attorney, Richard Schwartz, and the district's search firm said Thompson is out.

However, the school board's attorney said both Thompson and Wood are still in the running and could be offered a contract Saturday to lead the 52,800-student district in its fight to hold on to accreditation.

"The characteristics of the individuals they are looking at are not the characteristics they should be looking at," Elgart said. "We have serious reservations about their ability to retain the district's accreditation."

SACS gave the district until Sept. 1 to meet nine mandates or be the first district in the country to lose accreditation since 1969. One of those mandates is that the board hire a permanent superintendent. SACS said a one-year leader could work, but the district must still hire a permanent superintendent.

Thompson and Wood asked for a contract of at least 18 months, which is too long for a corrective superintendent, Elgart said.

James E. Bostic, one of two state board of education members Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed last month to help Clayton, also criticized the board's choice for finalists.

"The two people suggested ... are absolutely the wrong people," Bostic said. "We need to look at excellent and very capable people in Georgia who understand the state laws and understand how to get things done."

Clayton's school leader also needs to have a positive record as superintendent, Elgart and Bostic said.

"The person selected needs to have a successful track record as a superintendent, knowledge and experience in the state of Georgia, and an understanding of the Clayton County school system," Elgart said.

Thompson's attorney and Wood took exception to Elgart's assertion that it would take too long for any out-of-state hire to come up to speed.

"California has the biggest and most complicated set of state rules in the country," said Wood, former superintendent of the Fresno school district. "I'm coming from the largest educational world in our country. That ought to count for something."

Schwartz said his client also could do the job.

"Meeting SACS standards is always meeting SACS standards," he said. "There are always some tweaks from state to state anytime, but, for an experienced superintendent, it shouldn't be rocket science."

Thompson asked Clayton for a $275,000 salary and up to $2 million for a consultant team, along with 24-hour security and 24-hour access to a car and driver, according to the district's search firm and someone who sat in on Thompson's interview.

Thompson's attorney told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution those numbers weren't exactly accurate, but he declined to give specifics. However, Schwartz said his client was no longer in the running.

"I think Dr. Thompson made some demands of the [school] board they weren't willing to address," Schwartz said Thursday afternoon. "But I think Dr. Thompson was a terrific candidate for the job. If he'd have been there, he would have done that. He's a perfect fit, I think, for the mess in Clayton."

Dick Greene, the lead consultant for the search firm that brought the candidates to the school board, said Thompson withdrew after meeting resistance to his demands.

"[The school board] didn't want to meet his contractual needs," Greene said Thursday.

Dorsey Hopson, the school board's attorney, said Thursday the board had not made a decision and may offer a contract to one of the two or ask the search firm for more candidates. Board chairwoman Ericka Davis declined to comment.

Wood said he had not heard of any hiring decisions.

"Everything's been kind of quiet," he said.

Thompson, 63, has served as superintendent in Tulsa and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh declined to renew his contract in 2005 after complaints about his blunt, authoritative demeanor and questionable spending practices. Newspaper reports show Thompson charged a wardrobe, 24-hour access to a Lincoln Town Car and office renovations to a school credit card.

Wood, 59, worked as a superintendent in several districts in California and served as chairman of two accreditation agencies. He was forced out as head of the Fresno school district in 2004 after the state found falsified construction records. The district had to return $3 million to the state after an audit showed school officials falsified contracts for 24 schools.

Wood stressed that the problems started two years before his arrival in Fresno. He said he acted decisively by firing one of the two people responsible for falsely filling out the paperwork and suspended another.

"I didn't create the problem," he said Thursday. "It started before I got there, bubbled to the surface after I'd been in office for a year-and-a-half and I clipped it immediately."

Wood received a letter of recommendation from the Fresno Unified School District upon his departure in 2004.

Wood has asked Clayton for $185,000 salary, a $2,500 monthly housing stipend and a $650 monthly car allowance, according to his resume and contract demands.