PUBLIC SCHOOLS / PRIVATE SCHOOLS / Anxiety

I pulled my kid out of a private school yesterday. It's a long story, but my daughter (aged 8 and in second grade) simply was not a happy camper there.
I went to a private Christian school from 7th grade until graduation, and my oldest daughter went to Adventist schools.
I've was sick to my stomach thinking about my daughter going to a public school. I felt like I was letting her down somehow. I contacted the school I had gone to as a kid, but it was $450.00 a month, which would mean a jump in $225.00 a month for me to pay. I just can't afford that. I called up two other private schools, but they were full and had waiting lists for second grade.
So I enrolled her in the public school in our neighborhood today.
I'm feeling better about this decision, having done what I possibly could do in this situation.
I think this anxiety I've felt over this supposedly easy decision is because we've been told that the public system is BAD. If we send our kids to public schools, they will not turn out 'right.'
Have any of you had to make this decision? Did you feel anxiety over sending your kid to public school?