ln a class action suit brought to obtain a judgment declaring that the Kentucky system of financing public elementary and secondary education violated the Kentucky Constitution Judge Ray Corns ruled the system unconstitutional on May 31, 1988. He held that the system violated not only the state constitution but also the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study traced the historical and legal development of the financial support system for public elementary and secondary education from 1830 to the present date. Second, the study analyzed the facts surrounding the ruling declaring the system unconstitutional. The study was a historical review of the legislative documents, historical records, and legislative acts which set the stage for the unconstitutional judgment. Judge Ray Corns, the Circuit Court judge rendering the decision, and other key actors in The Council for Better Education v. Wilkinson were interviewed to analyze facts and events related to the ruling that the system was unconstitutional. / Ed. D.