I never had a problem with the education system but then again my parents planned accordingly. Like all states there are goo school districts and bad one and good schools and bad ones. I do agree the education system need a lot of work but I don't think the liberal mantra of throw money at it and that will fix it is the right approach
Like your parents, my wife and I insured our children got the best education we could provide. They went to Catholic school through the 8th grade and then transferred to the public school system. Our son went to a technical high school which required entrance exams much like a college does. He graduated 3rd in his class and had been an honor student throughout his high school career. Years later, when our daughter started high school, we moved to a suburb where the school district had a excellent record and none of the inner-city problems schools often have.
My grandson is in the school he is in in El Paso, TX because my son-in-law is stationed at Fort Bliss and that is the only school available. They have thought about changing to an online school where the cost is about $10,000 a year, which on military pay, they really cannot afford.
At least with the school district my grandson is in, the problem isn't about underfunding so much as corruption within the district. Federal money comes with mandates. The district defrauded the federal government by taking the money and then lying about meeting those mandates. This is just one among many problems the district has. Like I said, folks have been fired and some will probably be brought up on charges.
Personally, I believe classroom size and the fact that the No Child Left Behind rules require schools to equally educate all students without regard to the fact that not all students are equal, has created an educational environment where it is difficult to properly allow each student to achieve their highest potential. Our grandson has an IQ of 171 (as determined from official IQ testing and not some silly online IQ test) and yet he was failing some of his classes. Granted many kids with high IQ's at the genius level are often bored in the traditional learning environment because they grasp new concepts so easily. There used to be TAG programs for such students. Many schools have abandoned TAG programs due to lack of funding while at the same time ELL programs have greatly increased. Our educational systems today seem geared to the mediocre or poor student as opposed to addressing the needs of all students.
That is my little rant for today about the failures of the public school system in the U.S.