Honest Talk About Failing School Districts

School district funding is back in the news again, thanks to the Facebook founder kid donating a good chunk of change to the failing Newark NJ school district. All the news articles fawning over this event readily admit that spending per student is already high in this district--but nobody will mention the real bogeyman here.
It drives me nuts when so many media articles yap on and on about failing school districts and bad teachers and need for new programs, yet dance around the real issue. Which is: that students residing in communities with low social economic standards are screwed. It's just not P.C. to admit that the problem begins with the community and the home. One teacher I know was telling me how it's a known fact (among teachers) that when a school district reaches 40% free lunch (low income) the district is as good as doomed.
Why is this ? Because when you are raised in a home where nobody believes anything good will come from education (because, hey, it didn't work for me) they don't give a damn if you succeed or not. If your economic reality is only the crooks and pushers are rich-then you know that school is a joke. Out here in the poor communities of Alaska--they always feel that success comes from "connections", not education. It simply feels useless. It also doesn't help when the community at large mocks "nerdy" or successful kids in these types of impoverished areas.
You won't solve this ingrained mentality by blaming the poor teachers (and bless them for sticking it out in these difficult districts). But you need to target the parents. Everyone who was raised upper middle class knows that they were expected to succeed by their elders--not mocked for trying.
So take that Facebook money, and redirect it to the community--advertise on billboards, buses and TV that education is the real path to success and popularity. Change the "it's no use" mentality instead of bashing your head against the wall and flushing money down the drain.