That response bothers me. It is akin to saying, on the war on terror, "Well, hopefully I can find a neighborhood with no Muslims in it." Capitulation and flight do nothing to resolve the underlying problems.
While I certainly understand the self-interest that would motivate an individual's response to send his children to a private school, unfortunately the consequence is that parents who might make a difference slowly bleed out of the public school system. The only thing that is going to change this system in the short term (and probably in the long term, too, as I just can't see complete privatization occurring in my lifetime... and that is what is needed) is concerted and consistent pressure on local officials (school board, board of supervisors, school administrators, etc.). But, if the parents who really care all abandon the system, who is left to reform it?
I could have easily gotten a job at a private school. Yet, instead, I chose to teach at the school in my county that had consistently returned the lowest standardized test scores in the county, save only the juvenile detention home. My life would certainly have been easier at a private school or at the other, much more affluent, school in the county that offered me a job. But the kids at my school need me more.
A mediocre teacher can probably do just as well with the rich kids or the private school kids, as those kids have the culture and the parental support to make up for any minor deficiencies in teaching. My kids don't have that; they need damn fine teachers just to make it. What good does it do to dump lousy teachers onto the kids who can least afford to have them?
Make no mistake, the attitude I infer from your post (and I admit that it is an inference) is that it is OK for the parents to follow their own best interests and get their kids into the best schools. I sympathize with this and agree somewhat. But recognize that the very same principle justifies good teachers abandoning failing schools as well. So the next time you look at some inner-city academic hellhole and want to decry the crappy teachers there, just remember that you yourself expressed the justification for that situation, because the good teachers took your advice, looked out for themselves, and left. So I would be interested in your solution for the millions of kids trapped in the public education system, because uncaring or inattentive parents won't pay to give them the best. Do these kids deserve to fail? Do they deserve to be thrown to the wolves? If not, then what is the solution?
I don't expect everyone to operate solely out of altruism (I certainly don't. The school I am in offers me an unprecedented opportunity to shine. While other teachers are failing miserably, I have posted 100% and 92% SOL pass-rates in my classes over the preceding two years, with students that others find difficult to teach. So I certainly do gain something by forgoing the "ritzier" schools, but I am still doing a harder job than I would have to). But if some people aren't willing to stand up and make a difference, things will never change!