Gov. Sonny Perdue said Thursday a citizens' complaint asking him to remove the Clayton County school board has merit and has forwarded the case to a state agency for further review.

Five Clayton County residents filed the complaint with Perdue on June 23, saying the board lacks leadership and is floundering "like a rudderless ship."

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Perdue referred the matter Thursday to the Office of State Administrative Hearings.

"I have reviewed the complaint, and I believe that it raises sufficient, specific allegations that warrant review," Perdue said in a release.

Administrative Judge Michael Malihi will hear the case at 8 a.m. on July 17, two days after an election for seven board seats.

The group making the complaint includes Dyane Simmons, a retired Clayton County schoolteacher, and four local attorneys, including former county assistant district attorney Albert B. Wallace.

They've petitioned the state to remove board members Michelle Strong, Lois Baines-Hunter, Yolanda Everett, Rod Johnson and Sandra Scott. David Ashe, another board member mentioned in the complaint, recently resigned, effective July 16.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave the district until Sept. 1 to meet nine mandates or lose accreditation. The mandates include establishing a board that is capable of fulfilling its responsibilities, following an ethics policy and removing outside influences.

New corrective superintendent John W. Thompson has said repeatedly that Clayton County will meet SACS guidelines by July 15.

Wallace said he and the others thought they needed to do something if nobody else would.

"We were just sort of [angry] our school system had just fallen into such terrible reputation," he said, adding that the problem has caused property values to fall.

Wallace said the complaint is based on a 1976 state statute that he said applies to all government officials, state and local.

According to Wallace, the law says officials must abide by all state and federal laws, including those dealing with open and public meetings. The statute also lists specific provisions against "conduct which is unbecoming to a member or which constitutes a breach of public trust."

The complaint listed such actions as the personal attacks among board members, illegally closed meetings and a failure to maintain secure and adequate student records in accordance with state and federal regulations. The collective actions have "fostered an atmosphere that has effectively created a dysfunctional Board of Education," Wallace said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed a complaint with the state attorney general's office in April about closed meetings, prompting the school board to admit it had violated state law.

Board members declined to comment when reached by phone late Thursday afternoon.

"I haven't heard about it, so I can't comment on it," Scott said.

Strong, the board's chairwoman, and school board attorney Julie Lewis said they were unaware of the complaint and needed more information before commenting.

Johnson, Baines-Hunter and Everett could not be reached.

Perdue cited three reasons in forwarding the complaint.

They included the "real possibility" of the 52,328-student system losing its accreditation, the "clear and convincing evidence" to support the conclusion that the Board of Education is "fatally flawed" and the inability of his state-appointed liaisons James E. Bostic Jr. and William "Brad" Bryant to help. Both men resigned in April from helping the school board but said they would work with Thompson.

"The unique facts of this case," Perdue said, "as well as the detailed and diligent efforts of several independent, non-parties to the complaint, support my decision that review is necessary."