<p>Epiphany-- bravo---IMO, you couldn't be more correct! We did a 3 year "stint" in California starting back when my kids were 3 and 5. Originally from the midwest, I loved living in a place where people went on vacation. That said, I was shocked at the public school system. In addition to job opportunities that eventually sent us back to Chicago (and me being terribly homesick for friends and family) I was adamant that I couldn't fathom raising kids there within the public school system. When D started kindergarten at a private school, our friend's D started at our public school and the differences made me cry. Proposition 13's effects were horrid--the end result was making everything far less than mediocre, and the mind-set of coming up with "quick fixes" (with disasterous consequences) was ingrained within the government. In my feeble mind, I'd hoped that things had improved in the 12 years since we left there....</p>