Having local, state, and federal involvement in funding adds complexity without providing any net benefit. EX: People move all the time, focusing at the state level concentrates costs while defusing benefits.
Further, the "laboratories of democracy" model means that if I don't like how my state is doing education, I'm free to move to another one.
> People move all the time, focusing at the state level concentrates costs while defusing benefits.
Not sure I understand what you're trying to say here. You don't think states are big enough to get economies of scale?
If some state say Iowa sees most young people move out of state then they don't get direct economic benefits from educating well. Alternatively, Virginia may benefit from importing an educated population and have less economic incentive to educate it's own population well.
Yes, their are incentives to educate your own children well, but a Florida retiree may not have any kids or grand kids in state and thus not care about educating people without a direct connection to them.
Those connections and thus incentives become more direct at the national level.
Personally, Common Core standards for all states was a great idea that we will never see again in our lifetime.
I do want all local taxes and property tax to be removed from Educational funding and all funding to be statewide and the same per student across the state. (This might happen in our lifetimes)
"(aging)" is just a remark about the demographics skewing away from children as the economy here stumbles along.