But he didn't force all children in VA to go to it. The problem with public schools is - if you're stuck in a bad one - what on earth do you do? The liberal answer was bussing (take all of the bad students somewhere else) and now is either more money, fereralize it, or do-nothing (I'm not sure anymore).
The colleges are an example on the macro level (public and private) of what can be achieved on the micro level.