Reply #216: You are largely correct

[FBaggins]

Except that not every state and/or locality funds from property taxes to the same extent.

But that's still a good proxy. If you're in a county that funds largely with property taxes, then you can compare your state income tax to your federal income tax to your property taxes. There's a good change that the property tax bill is about how much of your taxes are going to k-12 education.

it was a requirement that parents support and augment the teachers and the curriculum and volunteer or pay extra tuition for not doing so.

Man I love that idea. I wish it could be implemented in public schools (and I think it HAS in some experiments)... but there are some problems with that.

Just as private schools do not draw from the same pool of students as public schools (due to selection, higher costs, whatver)... so too the parents are not the same across the board. IOW, the kids who are often most in need of the benefits a strong public education brings... are not the kids whose parents have the inclination/ability to be of such help.