Going back 30 years in Mill Valley, we did have neighborhood schools, and school buses. The buses were lost because of expense. For a time, different schools used different instructional methods, were traditional or
experimental, so parents could choose.
Going ahead, yes, it would be good to have kids attend their local schools. However, state laws regarding class size etc. make it impossible to ensure that new children arriving here will be able to be accepted in their local school. But all our schools are good ones.