Some people either don't care or the system is so rigged and corrupt that they just don't try to get involved anymore.

My family kept trying time and again for 8 years to get positive changes into our system and all were met with opposition and we were dismissed each time. The corruption went all the way up to the superintendent. We were just ignored by the people higher than that but the super himself was just as corrupt as the systems below him. The school system was a small one though so each committee was able to cover for the others and none of the families could do anything about anything. Assuming they wanted to. People in that area saw the school system as "The Authority" and wouldn't question their decisions. Why bother go to a meeting if you're just going to follow their rules anyway? Everyone stayed home.

There was a problem when I was in high school of a bus driver who threw a first grader into the side of the bus to make him "sit down and be quiet" at the beginning of his route. Kid had marks and the mom tried to take pics about an hour after the kid got home. Bus ride for us was about 45 minutes long. So that was an hour he was at home before he told his mom why he was crying and shaking and the 45 minutes during the drive. Almost 2 hours and the marks were still there.

No disciplinary actions were taken. The police did not press charges. Why would they? They were just as corrupt as the school system. The contract that was up for renewal between the school system and the bus system was renewed rather than cancelled. It was convenient to change companies because the contract was up but they didn't. Their words were this: "We're afraid to do anything about this at this time because our contract with this company is up for renewal and we don't want to jeopardize our standing with them." NOTHING happened to get that kid justice. They looked us in the eyes and said he wasn't important.

For 8 years the system was like that and nothing could be done. My family had moved to that area from a bigger city about an hour away. We didn't know that this was just how the system was. We were the only ones who ever tried to go to these meetings. It's like everyone else knew but us.

It had nothing to do with a lack of knowledge of where tax dollars were going, they knew perfectly well and didn't want to get involved.

TL;DR: Sometimes it's just that the system is so corrupt that people know they can't do anything about it so they don't go to the meetings or they're just too cowardly to try to stand up to it.