Draft:Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction

Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction
Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Details of Office
Type	Partisan
Selection	Statewide Election
Term	4 years, non-consecutive
Authority	Statute (1838) Constitution (1850)
Inaugural Office Holder	Joseph J. Bullock
Established	1838
Abolished	1992

The Superintendent of Public Instruction was a public office in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Established in 1838, it was the commonwealth's chief school official until the position was abolished in 1992 and responsibilities redelegated to the Kentucky Commissioner of Education.

Background

On February 16, 1838, Governor James Clark approved an act of the Kentucky General Assembly to establish the commonwealth's first provisions for public education. This act included the creation of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, state board of education, and empowered each county to form their own board of education. Per statute, the superintendent would be appointed to a two-year term by the governor and was chiefly responsible for clerical duties.

Governor Clark appointed Presbyterian clergyman Joseph J. Bullock as Kentucky's first Superintendent of Public Instruction. However, he would only serve in this position for a year and a half before resigning and calling for a larger salary that was commensurate with the commitment needed for future superintendents to continue their focus on the responsibilities of their office rather than another form of supplementary employment.

Following the ratification of the 1850 Kentucky constitution, the superintendent was made a statewide constitutional officer who would be elected to serve a term of four years. When the 1891 Kentucky constitution was ratified, all constitutional officers including the superintendent were only permitted to serve one term.

In 1990, the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) was signed by Governor Wallace Wilkinson. One of the provisions included in this legislation was the redelegation of all authority and duties from the superintendent to the newly created office of the Kentucky Commissioner of Education.

Abolishment

Beginning in 1921, there have been six constitutional amendments on the ballot to either abolish the office or remove it as an elected position. However, until 1992 all of these attempts were defeated by the voters.

In 1992, both Amendment #2 and Amendment #3 contained provisions to abolish the office. Despite Amendment #3 being defeated, Amendment #2 passed with 540,156 votes (51.1%) and successfully abolished both the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Register of Land Office.

List of Superintendents

• Joseph J. Bullock (1838–1839)
• Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh (1839–1840)
• Benjamin Bosworth Smith (1840–1842)
• G.W. Brush (1842–1844)
• R. T. Dillard (1844-1848)
• Robert Jefferson Breckenridge (1848–1854)
• John Daniel Matthews (1854–1860)
• Robert Richardson (1860-1864)
• Daniel Stevenson (1864–1868)
• Zachariah Frederick Smith (1868–1872)
• H.A.M. Henderson (1872–1880)
• Joseph Desha Pickett (1880–1888)
• Ed Portor Thompson (1888-1896)
• W.J. Davidson (1896–1900)
• Harry Vernon McChesney (1900–1903)
• James H. Fuqua (1903–1907)
• John Grant Crabbe (1907–1910)
• Ellsworth Regenstein (1910–1912)
• Barksdale Hamlett Sr. (1912–1916)
• V.O. Gilbert (1916–1920)
• George W. Colvin (1920–1924)
• McHenry Rhoads (1924-1928)
• W.C. Bell (1928–1932)
• James H. Richmond (1932–1936)
• Harry W. Peters (1936–1940)
• John W. Brooker (1940–1944)
• John Fred Williams (1944–1948
• Boswell B. Hodgkin (1948–1952)
• Wendell P. Butler (1952–1956)
• Robert R. Martin (1956–1959)
• Wendell P. Butler (1959–1963)
• Harry M. Sparks (1964–1968)
• Wendell P. Butler (1968–1972)
• Lyman V. Ginger (1972–1976)
• James B. Graham (1976–1980)
• Raymond H. Barber (1979–1983)
• Alice McDonald (1983–1987)
• John Brock (1987–1991)
• John Stevenson (1991–1992)