Over the past few weeks, several media outlets have printed a handful of quotes extracted from the transcript of a six-hour deposition in a school-funding lawsuit. These comments, which we understand are being quoted again today in the AJC, make it seem like a Georgia Department of Education official doesn't consider science and social studies part of an "adequate" education.

This is an irrelevant distraction being pushed by the plaintiffs through their attorneys in this case, and the media is falling for it. But we hope the public will be a little savvier.

A truer reading of the transcript makes it clear that this employee, Joanne Leonard, was discussing "adequate" in the context of Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP. That is the federal formula that considers only test results from mathematics, reading and English in determining if a school is making progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law. As indicated by Leonard in her deposition, science and social studies are not a part of the "Adequate" Yearly Progress formula.

For the past six years, Leonard's job has been to participate in and then oversee the process for determining and releasing the AYP status of schools across the state. Practically every substantive question Leonard answered in the deposition up until the point she uttered these quotes was about defining and determining AYP and her role in the accountability process.

However, it doesn't matter how one interprets — or misinterprets — Leonard's comments. They are not relevant to the case. The Georgia Department of Education clearly values social studies and science and requires both for high school graduation.

This case is about public funding of education in Georgia and determining if it is "adequate" under Georgia's Constitution. The trial court has made it clear that it is going to determine adequacy by reviewing what is required in state law and state board of education rules. It is undisputed that the state of Georgia requires that social studies and science be taught in our public schools. However, the state's investment goes well beyond what's minimally required.

With the support of the governor and the Legislature, State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox has overseen dramatic improvements in the social studies and science curriculum that have required a huge investment of time, manpower and resources. For instance, the state's curriculum was completely rewritten in these core areas into a set of clear, rigorous standards; thousands of teachers were trained in the new curriculum and, in science, teaching specialists were placed around the state to help with implementation of the new, tougher standards to improve student achievement.

Of course, the plaintiffs' attorneys don't want the public to know this. They'd rather distract the citizens of Georgia with isolated quotes out of a 200-page transcript instead of dealing with the substance and legal merits of their claims.

In the process, they have dragged through the mud the admirable reputation of Joanne Leonard, a fine educator and conscientious public servant. Leonard's entire adult life has been devoted to improving the education of children through her work as a teacher, a principal at one of Georgia's finest high schools, a staff member of the Governor's Office of Student Achievement and, most recently, as Director of Accountability for the Georgia Department of Education. She deserves better than this.

And the people of Georgia deserve better than a smokescreen of incomplete and confusing quotes from a group of lawyers and others who want to litigate this case in the press. The plaintiffs have elected to file this lawsuit. So let's ignore the legal maneuvering, try this case in the courts and leave dedicated, hardworking educators out of the media fray.

— Stuart Bennett is chief deputy state superintendent of schools for the Georgia Department of Education, a former principal, social studies coordinator and teacher.