[*winter*]

In NJ, where they have Abbott Districts (funded by local and statewide tax money) some school districts are spending over 20k per student- in the worst districts.

Not all schools are failing, but the ones that ARE failing are doing so astronomically. When you get dropout figures that high (greater than 50%!) something is significantly wrong. If anything, it's a sign that the gap between top and bottom in our country is growing. While some suburban school districts are comparable to private academies in their offerings and success of graduates, some urban districts are failing at astronomical rates.

Not that it's the fault of teachers. There are way too many factors that go into it. Teachers may play a role (positive or negative) but they alone do not create the massive failure statistics.