ATLANTA -- Gov. Sonny Perdue offered help to Clayton County on Friday to help the school district maintain its accreditation.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has recommended that the county be stripped of its accreditation in September if the system doesn't undertake a host of changes, including a shakeup of the "dysfunctional" school board.

The agency, which has been investigating Clayton since November, said it found evidence that the county's school board is "fatally flawed" and documented cases of possible ethical lapses and conflicts of interest among board members.

It would be the first time in a decade the regional agency has yanked a system's accreditation, and the first time in Georgia history. The move could put scholarships, college acceptances and education funding at risk for the system's more than 50,000 students.

Friday, Perdue announced that two “special liaisons” will help Clayton County in the completion of steps outlined by SACS to keep its accreditation. The process must be completed by Sept. 1.

“We are lending this helping hand to support Clayton County's teachers, parents and, most importantly, students," Perdue said.

Perdue asked two members of the state board of education, William Bryant and James, Bostic Jr., to serve as the liaisons.

Perdue also said the state auditor’s office will assist in reviewing audits of the school system’s finances.

Secretary of State Karen Handel will also audit the election of school board members, to ensure the elections fully complied with state law, Perdue said.

"Local control of our schools is always the preferred option," Perdue said. "I believe that the actions outlined today will help the system complete the steps put forth by SACS, and hopefully prevent the loss of accreditation of its schools. When local control fails, there needs to be a system of accountability in place and a path to regaining accreditation."

Perdue also said he will ask for legislation that would trigger an automatic referendum to remove a school board, if a school district loses its accreditation. Under the proposal, if accreditation is lost, the state Board of Education would choose new school board members.

Clayton County interim school superintendent Dr. Gloria Duncan issued this statement late Friday: "We are currently in communication with the Governor’s office and in the process of reviewing the information. Our primary goal is to educate the children in our school district and to maintain accreditation. We appreciate all efforts to move this process forward so that we can demonstrate full compliance for all SACS standards."