better educational opportunity for those who reside in the wealthier sections of the
state.
The majority seems to envision that the General Assembly can provide a dually
funded educational system, one to be funded by the state which will be applied
uniformly throughout the state, the second to be funded locally wherein there is no
limit to the amount which local districts can enhance the funding in their district
above the level of funding provided by the state. This overlooks the fact that the
majority has defined an "efficient" common school system as one which uniformly
provides an equal educational opportunity throughout the state. As the majority
opinion states, "The children of the poor and the children of the rich, the children
who live in the poorer districts and the children who reside in the rich districts must
be given the same access to an adequate education." A school system provided by
the General Assembly which is funded partially by the state and supplemented by
local districts to the extent that it results in any significant difference in funding per
child in the richer and poorer districts will not be constitutionally "efficient" under the
definition of the term as set forth in the majority opinion.
Although the constitution requires the General Assembly to provide, through
appropriate legislation, for an "efficient" system of common schools throughout the
Commonwealth, the debates of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention shed
very little light upon what the delegates had in mind by the use of the word
"efficient." None of the delegates debated the meaning of the word efficient in the
sense that it was used.
There was a general agreement among the delegates that common school education
should be a state rather than a local responsibility. There was much discussion
concerning the advantages to children of a common school education and the
advantage to the state of having an educated populace.
The primary thrust of the debate went to the equality of educational opportunity;
that a system of common schools throughout the state should provide alike for the
sons of the poor and the sons of the rich; and provide alike for the children who
reside in rural areas as well as for those who reside in centers of population. There
was much concern that if education in the common schools throughout the state
were not made a constitutional responsibility of the Commonwealth, it would simply
become or remain a local matter, and the children of the wealthy and those who
reside in the cities would be afforded greater educational opportunity than the
children of the poor and those who reside in rural areas. The primary concern was
that the opportunity be equal for all children throughout the Commonwealth.
It is because of this universal concern expressed by the delegates to the convention
that I conclude that the word "efficient" as used by them must include not only its
dictionary definition but must also be construed to include the requirement of
substantial equality of educational opportunity.
I do not concur with the majority that the present system of common schools has, on
the basis of the record before us, been shown to be constitutionally under-funded or
inadequate.
While there is a constitutional requirement, I think, as to equality of educational
opportunity, I can find no such requirement as to the level of funding. In a sense, of
course, any system so inadequately funded that any money put into it is simply a
waste of resources is, of necessity, not an efficient system, and to this extent there
may be said to be a constitutional mandate as to the minimum level of funding.
During the constitutional debates an amendment was offered to the committee
report on education by Mr. Becker, who is quoted in the majority opinion. He offered
to amend Section 1 of the committee report to require that the General Assembly
provide an adequate and efficient system of common schools throughout the
Commonwealth. So far as I can determine from reading the constitutional debates,
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