Do you really think the schools would be contracting out if their employees would meet the mandates the law requires the schools to meet? My wife is an occupational therapist who works with special needs kids. She has worked in private clinics, major hospitals, contracted into schools, and currently works for a public school system. She has never hated her job until working for public schools. The bureaucracy is crushing her soul. Innovation is simply not tolerated. Rather than representing additional earning potential to her boss, innovation represents a threat to her boss's legitimacy.
Some of the teachers are bitter, some are just bad, and many start good and get worn down. For me, my observations of her experience add evidence that while the idea of public education is a noble one, the current model is corrosive to our society. I will not be sending my kids to the public schools in this region.