Gov. Sonny Perdue has a legal precedent if he finds evidence to remove Clayton County school board members for violating the state ethics code. Former Gov. Roy Barnes removed a Griffin-Spalding school board member eight years ago for unethical conduct.

Last week, Perdue said he found merit in a complaint from five Clayton residents asking him to remove the school board members. The governor sent the complaint to a judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings, and the case will be heard next week.

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"It wasn't the basis for his decision by any means, but we're certainly aware of the previous case," governor's spokesman Bert Brantley said Monday. "We wanted to look at the history of the use of this code section."

Barnes removed Oscar Stokes Jr. from the Griffin-Spalding County school board in January 2000 at the recommendation of Judge Michael M. Malihi of the administrative hearings office. Malihi found Stokes violated the state ethics code when he allegedly sexually harassed three school employees and threatened an assistant superintendent who investigated the case.

On July 17, Malihi will hear arguments and could decide if Clayton school board members violated the state ethics codes when they put the district's accreditation at risk and illegally closed meetings.

Stokes' actions also put Griffin-Spalding's accreditation at risk, said Mark A. Elgart, president and chief executive officer of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

"This was a case that was resolved without significant intervention by SACS," Elgart said Monday. "But it could have affected their accreditation at the time."

SACS gave the Clayton school system 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.

On June 23, five Clayton residents, led by former Clayton district attorney Albert B. Wallace, filed a complaint with Perdue under a 1976 statute that requires all government officials — state and local — to abide by state and federal laws.

The Griffin-Spalding case was the foundation for the Clayton citizens' decision to seek help from the state.

"It gave us assurances that we were in the right church, in the right pew and ready to sing the right song," Wallace said Monday.

The residents petitioned Perdue to remove board members Michelle Strong, Lois Baines-Hunter, Yolanda Everett, Rod Johnson and Sandra Scott. The complaint also mentioned board member David Ashe, who resigned effective July 16.

On Monday, Strong, the board chairwoman, said she was waiting for information from board attorney Julie Lewis and could not comment.

Lewis nor the other school board members returned phone calls Monday.

The citizens' complaint alleges the Clayton school board members violated state open meetings laws, personally attacked each other and failed to maintain secure and adequate student records as required by state and federal regulations.

"We don't have [a member being accused of sexual harassment]," Wallace said, "but these men and women don't have any fundamental qualities in making decisions and following the law. If you don't follow the law, we think you should be held accountable."

Perdue reviewed the complaint and found merit.

"This is not something the governor went into lightly," Brantley said Monday. "Certainly it's a unique and rare circumstance."

Although Stokes was never criminally charged, the administrative judge and Barnes found Stokes violated state ethics codes. The Griffin-Spalding school district went to former Gov. Zell Miller first for help in 1998. Miller rejected the complaint, but Barnes found merit in it after the school system pushed for additional help.

In February 2000, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld Barnes' decision and unanimously rejected a bid by Stokes to regain his seat.

Neither Stokes nor his attorney, Michael B. King — who is running for Clayton school board — returned phone calls Monday. Griffin-Spalding school board attorney Tim Shepherd, Barnes and Malihi also did not return phone calls Monday.

Perdue has never removed a school board member nor used the statute, Brantley said.

Barnes' executive order to remove Stokes, along with background on the Griffin case, was included with the Clayton complaint, Brantley said.