I already know how much the taxes are out there. All these taxes and all these rich people yet they are cutting programs in the schools. Most of them don't even have an Orchestra (my daughter plays the cello). What the hell do they do with their money?
Stop trying to make me feel worse or I will put a pox on your house...... 
The problem that you will find with the schools (admittedly I speak from experience that is approaching two decades old) is:
1. Prop 13 capped real estate taxes, and cut off runaway education spending on all but the most essential programs.
2. The teachers union, and the general "political correctness" of the population and therefore the cirriculum.
3. So much of the limited education budjet has to be directed toward education for the illegals that there is nothing left for the children of the actual taxpayers.
All that said, when we relocated ( and my wife and I have done so 17 times during our marriage) the first criteria for selecting a place to buy was based on the performance of the school district.....and there are still some good ones in California, but you will have to do your homework, and you might have to live in an area where you have a long commute......we ended up in Thousand Oaks, and when we first arrived, my office was in Santa Monica.......tough commute every day........but since I was the boss, I eventually relocated the office to a better spot for all of the employees in my unit......things work out.....
doc