Public schools enter a new world of competition .
Despite mixed record, vouchers gain momentum . Cinderella education story awaits for fairy-tale ending. For the first time this century, US public schools are looking over their shoulders, as new competitors gear up to offer choices that families have never had before. Public schools are taking on more kids with a wider range of abilities, languages, and family situations than ever. In the 1970s, when courts ordered busing for racial balance, they bused.