I might argue that children are the responsibility of the parents. As far as equal resources, DC schools spend among the highest per student in the country and yet have some of the worst outcomes.

The problem isn't financial, it's political. There isn't a correlation of budget per student and outcomes. Successful schools aren't the richest schools -- they are the ones with the most involved parents. The problem is cultural as wel as political.

When black kids who like to read and study are bullied because they are accused of 'acting white' -- no amount of money solves that. Look at the academic success of poor Asian kids by comparison. Asian cultures and families prioritize education almost to an obsessive degree. Consider the proportion of Asians in the Ivy League compared to their proportion of the population (even when excluding international students.)