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Apart from the constitutional provisions, a major change in the <br />school funding structure occurred during the Great Depression. <br />Under the School Machinery Act (enacted in 1931 and amended <br />in 1933), the state assumed responsibility for all current expens- <br />es necessary to maintain a minimum eight-month school term <br />and an educational program of basic content and quality (in- <br />structional and program expenses). In exchange for the state’s <br />expanded role, local governments assumed responsibility for <br />school construction and maintenance (capital expenses). The <br />School Machinery Act established counties as the basic unit for <br />operating public schools, which is maintained today with large <br />county-wide school systems, except in the 11 counties that also <br />have city school systems. <br />In 1975, the General Assembly enacted the School Budget and <br />Fiscal Control Act, which delineated responsibility for school <br />funding: <br /> To ensure a quality education for every child in <br />North Carolina, and to assure that the necessary <br />resources are provided, it is the policy of the State <br />of North Carolina to provide from State revenue <br />sources the instructional expenses for current <br />operations of the public school system as defined <br />in the standard course of study. It is the policy <br />of the State of North Carolina that the facilities <br />requirements for a public education system will <br />be met by county governments. <br />Over time the delineations proscribed by the School Machinery <br />Acts and the School Budget and Fiscal Control Act have given <br />way to increased local investment in instructional expenses. Even <br />so, the North Carolina Supreme Court has made clear that it is <br />the state that bears responsibility for fulfilling the constitutional <br />obligation to guard and maintain the right of every North Carolina <br />child to receive a “sound basic education.” Leandro v. North Caroli- <br />na, 346 N.C. 336 (1997). <br /> The North Carolina Supreme Court has made <br />clear that it is the state that bears responsibility <br />for fulfilling the constitutional obligation to guard <br />and maintain the right of every North Carolina <br />child to receive a “sound basic education.” <br />North Carolina has been engaged in litigation defending its sys- <br />tem of school finance for almost twenty years. The legal action <br />was instigated in part by spending inequities between low-wealth <br />and higher-wealth counties—inequities that persist today. <br /> 7 < <br /> SOURCES OF LOCAL SCHOOL FINANCE LAW: <br />THE LEANDRO CASE <br />”Because the North Carolina Constitution expressly states that units of local governments with financial <br />responsibility for public education may provide additional funding to supplement the educational programs <br />provided by the state, there can be nothing unconstitutional about their doing so or in any inequality of <br />opportunity occurring as a result… Clearly then, a county with greater financial resources will be able to <br />supplement its programs to a greater degree than less wealthy counties, resulting in enhanced educational <br />opportunity for its students.” <br />Leandro v. State, 488 S.E.2d 249 (N.C. 1997).