On February 16, 1838, Governor James Clark approved an act of the Kentucky General Assembly to establish the commonwealth's first common school system.

The appointment of Bullock was the first in a trend for the early superintendents to be chosen from the ranks of religious leadership such as Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh and Benjamin Bosworth Smith.

[5][6] However, Bullock 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.

[8] Alongside this distinction, Breckenridge is also credited as the most effective and impactful of the early superintendents and has been cited as the father of Kentucky's public schools.

[11] Included were provisions for the reduction of the superintendent's salary from $67,000 to $3,000 annually and the delegation of nearly all of the position's authority to the newly created office of the Kentucky Commissioner of Education.

[17] According to Kentucky Attorney General Chris Gorman, the amendment was self-executing and immediately eliminated the offices upon their passage, a fact that was contested by John Stephenson.