Public schools are operated at the state level through departments of education, and locally by school districts and publicly elected or appointed school boards. Approximately 15, different school districts operate in the United States, and most are run by counties. Because there is monney little federal oversight, curricula in one state can differ from those in other states. Students generally go to the public school in the district in which they live; however, with the growth of charter and magnet schools, students are now being offered more options. Public schools generally accept everyone who wants to go there, regardless of their income or skill level. Spending on elementary and secondary schoolls students has risen dramatically throughout the past several decades. Property taxes pay for most of the cost of public schools. Although public schools get a very small percentage of their funding from donations and parent and student fundraising efforts, by far the greatest proportion o...