Not really. Although people are unwilling to pay for public education, they do because the consequences of not paying school taxes are not worth it. The schools get their money.
As a matter of fact, all the reports I've read show a reverse correlation between the amount of money spent per pupil and the quality of their education. The more money spent, the worse it tends to be.
Well, the District of Columbia sure demonstrates that money alone doesn't make the schools good. Don't they spend more per capita on education than any state? I haven't seen the stats in a while, but I think they do, and their schools are at or near the bottom.
"The more money spent, the worse it tends to be."
Which reports? I know that some inner city schools that spend lots don't do well, but i also know that some of the top-rated public schools in my state also spend the most per student. And poor rural areas that spend the least also rank near the bottom in test results and in the percentage of kids who go on to college.
Those reports are fudged. Here's how the thing works. The per pupil expenses compare a very select group of private schools to public schools. The private schools can "cherry pick" students. That means they don't accept students with severe learning disbilities, emotional problems, etc. etc.
Public schools don't have the same luxury. They have to accept everyone, which means additional facilities and staff that adds to the total.
But what is interesting, the guys doing the studies also cherry pick. They tend to compare public schools to selct private institutions, such as a religious school. They don't compare public schools in poor neighborhoods to those in rich neighborhoods or to elite private schools.
That would change the dynamic. Public schools in Westchester (a suburb of NYC) spend a fortune on kids and get results. The same is true for the elite private schools that run forty to fifty thousand a year.
In the affluent suburbs and among the elite private schools, the system isn't collapsing, it's actually improving.