Clayton County school administrators will have to prove to their new boss that they have what it takes to save the district's accreditation or face a possible reassignment or termination.

As part of new Superintendent John W. Thompson's shake-up, every school administrator will have to reapply for his or her job.

"We're looking at resumes and job descriptions to make sure we have the right people on board," Thompson said after Monday's school board meeting. "I don't know if anyone will lose their job, but it's a possibility."

Dozens of administrators will have to re-interview and prove they fit Thompson's agenda for meeting the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' nine mandates to save accreditation.

SACS is scheduled to return to Clayton on Aug. 1 to judge the district's progress. If the mandates aren't met, the district will lose accreditation Sept. 1.

"We have 87 days before Aug. 1," Thompson told the board Monday. "Aug. 1 is our day of redemption with the SACS report."

Sid Chapman, president of the 2,800-member Clayton County Education Association, said he had to check into the legality of Thompson's plan to make administrators reapply for positions.

The board extended contracts to the administrators last month. However, those contracts do not go into effect until July, district spokesman Charles White said.

One job the Clayton administrators won't be eligible for is deputy superintendent. Thompson has identified his former colleague Judith Simmons as the lead candidate for the position. Simmons, who worked with Thompson in Pittsburgh, is serving as the district's interim deputy superintendent, Thompson said Monday.

Simmons, who already has an office in the district's administrative headquarters in Jonesboro, has been serving as a consultant since Thompson's first day on the job last week.