Having lived in WI and now not far away in IL, I have to admit I was surprised with the drop in union membership that occurred. The CA example argues to the contrary, but you’d think that people would act in their own economic best interests.
One really telling phone call I remember from a WI talk show at that time - a private school administrator was asked to explain why his school spent so much less yet go better outcomes than public schools. He really laid it out, from really giving the teachers what they wanted (which was often not more money or benefits but budget for materials, technical and clerical assistance, flexible scheduling, enough teachers aides, etc) and of course much more of a team atmosphere. Salaries were lower but job satisfaction was higher and they had no problem hiring teachers to fill vacancies. The takeaway was “good smart management” and focus on the core mission of education, very low overhead and a minimum of gov’t interference. All of which didn’t cost as much as public schools spend per pupil.
If you could envision homeschooling on a private school basis, that might be close to what would be optimal. Pay professionals to do the teaching but cut out the BS.
Your description of the private school case is perfectly rational. Good people in any profession aren’t worshipping the money. Good people want a quality environment to do a job they enjoy. Those who are committed in that manner deserve every cent they can be paid, but no matter, they have students as their priority.