I'm in the middle of a huge fight with our school district here in California.
They are closing schools because of decreasing enrollment. However, they are not using academic performance in their criteria for closing schools.
My kids school is on the chopping block, and it is a National Blue Ribbon school. There are other schools that are failing in the district, but "it wouldn't be fair to use academic performance as a criteria for closing schools."
Anyway, a group of parents is fighting this. We're trying to secede from our district and create a smaller district. In one week, we have gathered over 1000 signatures on a petition to seceded. We need 8000, and I think we'll get them.
We've gotten lots of publicity. I've been on the news.
We accidentally ran into Tom Campbell (former congressman, and currently in charge of the budget for the state of California) at the grocery store, and he wrote a letter to our superintendent.
We (parents) are trying to take back our school district.
You go, girl! Storm the Department of Education with torches and pitchforks if that's what it takes. Seems to me that your plan to secede is far more realistic than taking on the state machinery and trying to change the whole system.
If it fails, what'll you do?