It basically comes down to local tax bases. Schools are funded by local taxes so rich neighborhoods have better schools. This was challenged as a 14th Amendmen

It basically comes down to local tax bases. Schools are funded by local taxes so rich neighborhoods have better schools. This was challenged as a 14th Amendment (Equal Protection) violation in a famous supreme court case, San Antonio v. Rodriguez [0]. The court found that, since education is not a constitutional right, the 14th Amendment was not violated. Put another way, the US Federal (or an individual state) government lacks the authority to dictate how individual municipalities fund their schools systems. That authority would be necessary to enforce the equality you expect. I don't know where you're from, but perhaps your confusion stems from a more homogenous body politic? In America, there is a massive web of overlapping towns, cities, counties, districts, and states, each with their own political authority, and often with massively different demographic makeups. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Independent_School_District_v._Rodriguez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Independent_School...