I've seen the result of what you'd suggest in Mexico. In Mexico their are no truant officers, kids on the street don't go to school, and we all see the result. No surer way to end a third world fascist kleptocracy.
that localities be required to ensure that all children of that locality receive a minimum education, and that they have the power to tax to achieve that goal
Although I disagree with this philosophically, it's feasible constitutionally. However, the problem then is the definition of "minimum education." This will be determined politically - does it include Darwinism? Intelligent Design? Chinese? Cooking? Or does it exclude all of those but include reading, writing, and math?
Another issue is quality control. At this point, courts have ruled that the schools are not, in fact, responsible for educating children. If a child fails to learn, the system cannot be held accountable. (In the same way, the police cannot be held responsible for failing to protect citizens from crime.)
These are problems that are going to come up with any government system, no matter what product or service it provides.