Having been a part of that system for many years, there's many reasons why I wouldn't miss it if it went away, or was rebooted from the ground up. It's not the angelic institution that many believe it to be. Teachers who give a shit about the students enough to grade their failures harshly are run out of town, teachers who go with the flow, keep quiet and let problems fester, they're the ones who succeed in the political/cultural environment. Principals and Superintendents are highly overpaid and under-brained, often lazy and disengaged. Unions are brutal, Teacher's Union always gets its way, crushes internal dissent, and somehow always succeeds in convincing the public that the system needs to eat up more money, forever. Yes the fat Karen glorified babysitters who already make 6 figures for working 9 months out of the year are underpaid, sure. Government talks a big game about equity, but never actually delivers on funding schools in underserved communities and continues to kiss the asses of their flagship schools located in entirely upper middle class white/asian neighborhoods. If you even think about mentioning private school vouchers in a blue state, you're burned at the stake.
people don't get that just because some people aren't making a lot in a job, doesn't mean there arent a lot of people out there making plenty. i had a similar experience. teaching in the area around me makes 50-60k minimum starting.