This would be a non-issue if parents would simply put their children in private school and abandon the failed public system..... OK..now flame away!
I'm not going to flame you, because I think it is very important to have many options and choices in education. Thanks for your post.
Unfortunately, the students and parents that so desperately need to move kids to private schools are the ones that can least afford it.
Let's be honest, there are some excellent public schools in this country, just none in the inner city. They are in the more affluent suburban neighborhoods.
The only real answer is to tie the money for school to the kid, i.e., vouchers. The poor family doesn't get money for their kids education and hence no temptation to spend that money on something else, but they are given a choice to move their kids out of crappy schools.