This problem is caused by government funding of education. If students and/or parents were paying the tab or at least everything over the bare minimum , there'd be a laser focus on value. But with other people picking up everything over a certain amount, there's no need to scrimp on amenities or prestige instead of getting the most education for the money.

Perverse incentives? Absolutely. But thats what government does best. It perverts incentives. It hides the costs and makes a big show of benefits, even ones that don't truly matter.