Mr. Becker was the only member of the delegation who spoke in favor of this amendment. His support was hardly fervent. He simply said that in his opinion it would not be inappropriate to require the system of common schools to be "adequate" as well as "efficient." The word "adequate" did not make it into the present constitution, however. As was noted in the majority opinion, this court has always granted a great degree of deference to the discretion of the General Assembly in the manner of operation of the system of common schools. In City of Louisville v. Board of Education, 302 Ky. 647, 195 S.W.2d 291 (1946) we said: "Section 183 of the constitution is as broad as it is possible to frame an authority to the legislature to deal with the common schools in any way it should desire." In Elliot v. Garner, 140 Ky. 157, 130 S.W. 997 (1910), we said: "The constitution requires the General Assembly to provide an efficient system of common schools throughout the state; and how it shall best accomplish this object is purely a matter of legislative discretion." Section 183 of the Constitution of Kentucky leaves to the legislative discretion the best method of providing for an efficient system of common schools. Madison County Board of Education v. Smith, 250 Ky. 495, 63 S.W.2d 620 (1933). Legislative discretion cannot be extended to such limits as to allow the legislature, in its discretion, to fail to meet its constitutional mandate, but I do not believe it is within the province of this court to interfere with legislative discretion as to the level of school funding unless it clearly appears from the record that the level of funding is so low that it cannot reasonably accomplish basic educational necessities. Not all academic failure is the result of under-funding. I cannot agree with the majority that the constitution requires the General Assembly to monitor the school system to insure that schools are operated with no waste, mismanagement, or political influence. It is not possible for the General Assembly to oversee the day-to-day operation of schools. In my view, the General Assembly has discharged its duty when it has provided by law for a school system which, if properly administered, will result in substantially equal educational opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. The administration of the school system is not a legislative responsibility, and if the system, because of waste, mismanagement, or political influence, fails in its purpose, the failure is not to be charged to the General Assembly. Above the minimum level of funding that is constitutionally required for a system of common schools to be efficient, there is room for unlimited enhancement of educational opportunity. The range of this enhancement of educational opportunity above the minimum requirements must be left to the General Assembly. The General Assembly is the representative of the people and is the proper branch of government to determine public policy. The question of how much enhancement there should be of educational opportunity above the minimum requirements is a matter of public policy. Whether the General Assembly will provide a system of common schools of the highest order or one which barely meets the minimum requirements is a burden which must be placed squarely upon the shoulders of the General Assembly, where the constitution places it. It does not rest with the courts, and indeed the doctrine of separation of powers prohibits judicial interference with legislative prerogative. If we do not exercise restraint in this matter, I fear that every theoretical defect in the educational system will be escalated into litigation to determine the constitutional efficiency of the system. The system of common schools is created by many statutes, none of which have been directly attacked. Since we have not been asked to declare any statute unconstitutional, I fail to see how we can, in effect, declare them all unconstitutional.

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