As a former public school student, paraprofessional, teacher, principal and superintendent, as well as the current grandmother of students in public schools, I am becoming increasingly concerned about the apparent meaning of public education to some elected officials and public education employees.

My concern is that a growing number of public officials have come to think of public education in the same way that most Americans think of public housing or public health facilities —- that is, as the education source of last resort.

In my days as a student and educator, the majority of people —- including members of the General Assembly and state and local public education employees —- believed that public education was just what the term "public" implies, education for the public, regardless of race, creed or socioeconomic group. I fear that for many of those who claim to be public school advocates today, the term "public education" has come to mean the education that the public provides for students whose parents cannot afford —- or do not understand —- other options, such as private schools or home schools.

I would like to think that most Georgia education policymakers continue to share the historic view of public education as being the education of choice for the majority of children and among the most important obligations that society has. However, the words and actions of many of those who represent us in the General Assembly and at the state Department of Education indicate otherwise.

Over the last few years, members of the General Assembly have introduced several measures to make it more affordable for parents to send their children to private schools. Two of these measures have passed. One provides vouchers for parents to send special-needs children to private schools. Another allows a $1,000 tax break for individuals who donate to organizations that give scholarships to children in public schools to attend private schools of the parent's choosing.

Neither of these bills affects a large number of children, and neither is a major threat to public education. However, several other voucher bills have also been introduced, and voucher supporters say they will continue their efforts in future sessions of the General Assembly to provide greater "choice" to parents. What makes these efforts particularly disturbing to me is the fact that the attempts to provide funding for "school choice" have come at the same time that our legislators and other public officials have failed to define what it should cost the state (and local governments) to provide public school students with a quality, basic education.

The logical conclusion one might draw is that these officials are more concerned with providing alternatives to public education than in funding public education as we have defined it historically. If they are successful at encouraging a majority of educated and motivated parents to remove their children from public schools, they will face the less daunting task of financing a public system of schools of last resort.

With the General Assembly in recess, I had just about convinced myself that I was exaggerating the threat to public education when a high-ranking official at the state Department of Education rekindled my concerns. During sworn testimony in a deposition connected with a lawsuit filed by a host of state public school systems that came to light last week, the director of accountability for the Georgia Department of Education said quite clearly that science is not necessary as part of an adequate education and that "you can fail social studies and still get an adequate education."

There may be other high-level employees of the DOE who believe that an "adequate" education need not include science, social science or some other important subjects. If so, what does this say about the department of government whose primary mission is to promote public education in our state? It is my hope that the governor, General Assembly and state Department of Education will provide our public schools with the financial support they need to serve all of the public and not treat them as schools of last resort.

> Allene Magill is executive director of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the state's largest teachers organization.