I'd like to introduce a sensitive subject as neutrally as possible.
For root causes, the morale environment is largely politically induced in a coordinated attack on public education that goes back to the 80's. For some examples...
Exactly. They want to replace public education with a for-profit system.
Once that transition is in place, the vouchers will become harder for certain people to get, then eventually vouchers will go away and people will be solely responsible for their children's education. This means, yet again, the poor and middle class get the shaft.
For root causes, the morale environment is largely politically induced in a coordinated attack on public education that goes back to the 80's. For some examples...
* cuts on school lunches https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup_as_a_vegetable
* voucher programs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher
* vast finanical aid cuts http://tech.mit.edu/V105/N2/budget.02n.html
These policies have persisted off and on since then.