[ryanwaggoner]

Well, you could be right, but at least I've provided a datapoint. Can you provide some evidence that the phenomenon you're describing explains the state of the public school system as a whole, and that the DC system is an aberration?

[jlgbecom]

There is a ton of scholarly work on the effects of unequal funding on public education. Google Scholar is a good place to start:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=unequal+funding+educatio...

A good "primer" book, although a bit old, but not outdated, is called "Savage Inequalities"

http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Inequalities-Children-Americas-... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Inequalities

Another book is "The Shame Of A Nation" by the same author. These are just starting points, though, there's no shortage of studies, essays, books, and scholarly works on the subject. What I'm presenting here, in terms of social critiques of education, is by no means unique.