JONESBORO, Ga. -- Beginning Monday, visitors to the Clayton County Schools' administrative complex were to begin having to walk through a metal detector to get in.

Once inside, they also might have to submit to another search by a person using a hand-held metal-detecting device.

School board members have been under verbal assault from parents, students and teachers because of the recent accreditation controversy.

School board officials issued a news release Sunday, which said the district is taking the steps to ensure a safe working and meeting environment.

Schools spokesman Charles White said the extra security is part of an ongoing effort to improve safety in school buildings and not a reaction to the accreditation controversy.

The Clayton County school board has been at the center of an ongoing battle that threatens the accreditation of the district's schools. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools recommended that the accreditation be revoked as of Sept. 1.

The association pointed to infighting among board members, meddling in day-to-day school operations, violations of board procedures, misuse of funds and bid tampering. The association says the system with 54,800 students is "fatally flawed."

The Clayton County Chamber of Commerce took out an ad in Sunday's editions of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution calling for school board members to resign.

Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed two members of the state Board of Education on Friday to help Clayton County make the required improvements by the Sept. 1 deadline.