COLUMBIA--State Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum wants a group that supports tax credits for parents who send their children to private schools to pull an ad that uses her voice.

Tenenbaum said Friday she was angry and offended the ad manipulates her voice and distorts the progress she said South Carolina schools have made in recent years.

"I cannot be silent while out-of-state groups spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in South Carolina in order to misrepresent the truth and mislead people," Tenenbaum said. "They're using my voice to ridicule students and teachers."

Tenenbaum's comments come as debate begins to heat up over a bill dubbed "Put Parents in Charge," one of Gov. Mark Sanford's top legislative priorities.

Besides tax credits for those who send their children to private schools, tax credits would be given for those who home school.

The group that paid for the radio ad, South Carolinians for a Responsible Government, has run television and billboard ads, too.

The South Carolina Education Association, a professional organization for teachers and other educators, has aired ads against the bill.

Supporters say it gives parents more choices. Opponents say the proposal would take money away from public schools.

The bill is a long way from passage, but that's not keeping either side quiet. Supporters will have a rally at the Statehouse next week, said Denver Merrill, a spokesman for South Carolinians for Responsible Government.

The ad repeats Tenenbaum's recorded voice saying "We have accomplished so much," speeding up the recording each time the statement is repeated. A narrator says, "Just because you say it, doesn't make it true."

It continues on to say the state has the highest dropout rate and the lowest test scores in the nation -- assessments Tenenbaum disputed Friday.

"We are making progress," Tenenbaum said, reeling off a list of tests on which South Carolina students score at or above the national average.

And Tenenbaum cited a recent study that showed South Carolina did not have the highest dropout rate in the nation.

Merrill said the group stands by the ad and won't pull it.

"Mrs. Tenenbaum sounds like a broken record touting the improvements of our school system. If she wants to come up with a new verse, we'd be happy to incorporate that into our ad," Merrill said.

Tenenbaum defended the state, saying it has made significant progress in improving its SAT scores in recent years, even though the state was ranked last in 2004.

Tenenbaum also called on Sanford to ask the group to pull the ad.

"I have never seen a governor in South Carolina take the opportunity to join with a group that is attacking public education," Tenenbaum said. "I hope our governor won't be silent either."

Sanford's spokesman Chris Drummond said the governor hasn't heard the latest radio ad but said both sides should be advancing ideas and "these ads don't help advance the real debate."