A Clayton County school board candidate said he will ask for a recount after watching election results teeter back and forth Tuesday night and end with a 12-vote difference.

District 3 candidate Jessie Goree squeaked by Charles Davis with 50.2 percent of the vote in Tuesday's runoff election.

"It kept going back and forth all night," said Davis, who retired from Atlanta Public Schools as a maintenance supervisor. "I'm really concerned about those last votes."

Davis and Goree were among 10 candidates vying for five seats on the board. Only two of the races were decided during Tuesday's runoff. In addition to the possible recount, two seats will be contested in the November general election.

County elections director Annie Bright said Wednesday afternoon that she had received no request for a recount.

Under state law, Davis has two days after the results are certified to request a recount in writing. Only races with results within 1 percent can be challenged in a recount.

Bright will certify the election results on Friday. She is waiting for voters to produce identification on eight provisional ballots. She also is waiting to see if any absentee ballots come in from military members stationed overseas.

"The last count showed I'm up by 12 points," said Goree, who retired from Clayton schools this year as director of an adult literacy program. "But I would want a recount, too."

The winner of the District 3 race will be seated in January.

The nine-member board has two vacancies. One will be filed immediately by attorney Michael King, who captured the District 4 seat Tuesday.

Preschool teacher Mary Baker, who won the District 6 seat, will take office in January – at the latest.

District 6 voters will return to the polls for a special election Sept. 16 to choose between Baker or U.S. Army analyst Marcela Bodkin to serve the remainder of former board member Eddie White's term, which expires Dec. 31.

Two of Tuesday's winners – Wanda Smith in District 2 and Ophelia Burroughs in District 5 - will face Republican challengers in November.

Smith, a MARTA bus driver, will face stay-at-home mom and former nurse Della Ashley. Burroughs, a retired Jonesboro High School teacher, will face Diana Nicholson, who is also a former Jonesboro teacher. Nicholson, who taught high school math, left the district to care for her two toddlers.

Burroughs said she is running to retain accreditation and raise academics. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave the district until Sept. 1 to meet nine mandates or lose accreditation.

Nicholson said she wants to be more frugal with school expenses and increase transparency, including broadcasting board meetings online.

Parents will get a chance to see some of the board winners and candidates Thursday when Clayton students return to classes. Ashley, Baker and Goree will be among a crowd of almost 1,000 parents greeting students for the first day.

"Back to school is the first priority," said Goree, who will volunteer at North Clayton High, where her son starts his senior year. "I'm going to work with the PTA and do the same things I've been doing before I was elected. It's still about the kids."

King and Smith did not return phone calls Wednesday.