To some extent that may be true, but the more likely scenario is that the low teacher salaries reflect an overall lack of funding in that particular system. If teacher salaries are low, so are school-based administrators. You need to be looking beyond the school building to find the source of that issue.
No, I'm saying that those schools, where we are expecting people to get an education, are serving human beings. Very young human beings. Those human beings need to feel comfortable, welcomed, like the belong, especially in poor communities where education is obviously not a strong part of their history. It may seem silly to you, but having an welcoming and clean building is very important.
Field trips are also important learning tools, and again, especially in low income communities where those opportunities are not a part of their personal lives. These are the exact kids who need to visit museums, who need to see historical sites, who need to hear guest speakers, etc. They need their horizons broadened more than anybody, because their world tends to be so tiny, and they may not see opportunity in that world.
They work longer hours, more days of the year, and have more responsibility. So you have to pay them significantly more, or absolutely nobody would do the job.
You sort of answered your own question there by saying, "The only bias in charter schools is the parent giving enough of a fuck to apply for one." Obviously parental guidance is a massive issue in very poor communities. Having an entire school full of kids who's parents care enough to apply is a huge difference from the public school.
But it's not the only difference. The size of the school is also very different. For example, "New Song Academy" is a charter school in Baltimore's worst neighborhood (read: the worst neighborhood in the country). But it outperforms the average schools around the city. Why? Well, for starters you are right that the parents actually applied. But secondly, they have 166 students, total, in a K-8 building. That is half the amount of students as neighboring schools, and all the children have parents who went out of their way to get them there. I would certainly hope that the results are better.
So there's a lot more to it. People like to tout Charter Schools, and that's perfectly fine, but you have to put them in proper context.
