The Clayton County school board is asking for more time to prepare a response to why Gov. Sonny Perdue shouldn't remove them from office.

Last week, Perdue said he found merit in a complaint from five Clayton residents asking him to remove the school board members for violating the state's ethics code. The governor sent the complaint to a judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings, and the case was scheduled to be heard July 16 and 17.

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On Tuesday, the school board filed a motion asking that the hearing be delayed. Georgia law says anyone charged under the statute must be given at least 30 days' notice before a hearing.

"We're asking they be afforded the due process that is provided for in the statute," board attorney Julie Lewis said Tuesday.

As of late Tuesday, there had been no decision.

Perdue has legal precedent to remove school board members for unethical behavior.

Former Gov. Roy Barnes removed a Griffin-Spalding school board member eight years ago for unethical conduct.

"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.

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.

Malihi is the same judge who will 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.

Lewis said the state's actions come during probes by the Clayton County grand jury and SACS, who will have investigators in Clayton on Aug. 14 and 15. Seven board seats will also appear on the July 15 ballot.

"Since several board members terms are ending and they are not seeking re-election, it does leave one to wonder whether this is a good use of the court's time and of taxpayer money at this point in time," Lewis said in an interview Tuesday.

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.

Lewis said she is setting up individual meetings with each of board member to go over the 39 allegations in the complaint.

Baines-Hunter called the governor's actions' "the will of the people."

"If he can prove I have broken any laws or did anything, then OK," Baines-Hunter said Tuesday. "No one at this time has told me what I have done wrong."

Strong referred comments to the attorney, and Everett, Johnson and Scott did not return calls Monday or Tuesday.

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.

Stokes declined to comment Tuesday. His attorney, Michael B. King — who is running for Clayton school board — did not return phone calls.