Posted 2:31am 8/28/08

ATLANTA (AP) A state administrative judge recommended Wednesday that four members of the embattled Clayton County school board be removed from office for violating Georgia's open meetings laws and ethics code.

Judge Michael Malihi issued his recommendation less than 24 hours before Clayton County was to find out whether the 50,000-student district would keep its accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Gov. Sonny Perdue issued a statement saying he would ``announce a decision expeditiously'' on whether to unseat the board members, ``but only after a thorough analysis of the ruling and all options available.'' Spokesman Bert Brantley said the decision would not be made Wednesday night.

In his ruling, Malihi wrote that board chairwoman A. Michelle Strong, and board members Lois Baines-Hunter, Sandra Scott and Yolanda Everett ``have engaged in conduct unbecoming of a board member and in breach of public trust.''

The four women participated in at least 18 closed-door executive sessions of the board without first announcing what would be talked about, which is required by state law, Malihi wrote. They also discussed topics that were not listed on the board's agenda, squabbled frequently and berated staff during meetings, he wrote.

Their inappropriate and dysfunctional behavior lead directly to SACS threatening to yank the district's accreditation unless the board changes its unruly ways, Malihi wrote.

Strong said she is disappointed with the judge's decision.

``I haven't done anything wrong,'' she said. ``If the governor removes us, he removes us. I do feel like we didn't have a chance when we walked in the door.''

Baines-Hunter said she is considering whether to resign rather than be removed from the board.

``Nothing was a surprise,'' she said about Malihi's recommendation. ``A force greater than me than wants me off the board. I don't know what I did.''

Scott said she would comment later Wednesday evening. Everett did not immediately return a call for comment.

Board attorney Julie Lewis declined to comment.

Malihi's recommendation comes after he heard nearly 40 hours of testimony over four days earlier this month from Clayton County administrators, residents and the board members themselves. The hearing was requested by Perdue after five Clayton County residents filed a complaint with him about the board members.

Attorney George Brown, one of the petitioners, said he is pleased with the judge's recommendation.

``It needed to happen,'' Brown said. ``The evidence was overwhelming.''

Two former board members, David Ashe and the Rev. Rod Johnson, were also named in the residents' complaint, but both resigned from the board and were removed as plaintiffs.

Witnesses testified that board members frequently were disrespectful to district employees, screamed at each other during meetings and interfered in the day-to-day operations of schools. Former board chairman Eddie White testified that the board broke open meetings laws when members took an informal vote to hire Superintendent John Thompson during a closed-door meeting.

Clayton County is set to lose its accreditation Sept. 1 if it can't prove it has met nine mandates outlined in a scathing February report from SACS. The report blames the district's woes on a dysfunctional school board.

SACS is scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce whether Clayton County has made enough progress in the last six months to keep accreditation, which is necessary for students to get scholarships and gain admission to many colleges. SACS head Mark Elgart testified during the hearing that the judge's recommendation would not affect the accrediting agency's decision.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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