COLUMBUS
- Across Ohio, students are returning to school buildings that are among the worst in the nation.
At Hamilton High School in Butler County, a chronically leaky roof sometimes brings inclement weather inside.
At the Greenfield Village Schools in Highland County, asbestos, lead pipes and faulty outlets compete for limited funds.
And every month, an engineering firm visits Clay High School in Scioto County to see whether the foundation has slipped so much that the building should be condemned.
Yet by one measure, Hamilton, Greenfield Village and Clay High School are among the luckier schools, for they qualified for limited state money set aside for building construction and repair.
In response to legal and political pressures, state officials appropriated $709 million over the past seven years to help address school building needs. Educators say they welcome the state's effort, but point to a July survey by the non-partisan Legislative Budget Office that showed Ohio school buildings need about $16.5 billion in construction or repairs.
"It's only been by the grace of God there hasn't been a lot of kids killed in school buildings," said Bill Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition of Equity & Adequacy, a group of more than 500 schools that persuaded the Ohio Supreme Court to declare the current method of funding public schools unconstitutional.
Mr. Phillis cited a 1996 U.S. General Accounting Office survey ranked Ohio's school buildings last among the 50 states.
"We wouldn't tolerate these conditions in our parks or roadside rests," he said. "Somehow, there is this notion that it's OK to have decrepit schools."
Political leaders concede there is more to be done but argue they deserve credit for what's been done so far.
"You have seen a dramatic change," said House Speaker JoAnn Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg.
In its landmark ruling, the court majority upheld the structure of the school construction program but said it is unconstitutionally underfunded, leaving Ms. Davidson and other lawmakers wondering how much state funding is enough.
State jumps in
The state entered the school building business in 1957 with a $10 million appropriation. From 1957 to 1985, a total of $83.8 million went into the program.
Once the school funding case was filed, however, state officials began channeling more money into the program, adding $420 million this year alone and creating a separate commission to oversee it.
Randall Fischer serves as acting director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission, and said the panel parcels out three separate pools of money based largely on a school district's wealth and needs.
Earlier this month, the State Controlling Board released $330 million from the largest pool of money. The funds will be used to construct or repair buildings in 18 of Ohio's poorest school districts. Local districts will provide an additional $56 million, and the local share is determined by the district's wealth.
A building from 1915
Greenfield Village Schools in Highland County is to receive $19.7 million from the state and will use the money to expand and update existing buildings, said Superintendent Phillip Cornett.
"A lot of buildings are rather old. One was built in 1915. Some classrooms have just one (electrical) plug," he said. "We can't operate a computer because we don't have the electricity. We want our kids to be able to compete, and these kinds of conditions sometimes make it hard.
He estimated it will take about three years for the projects to be completed.
The School Facilities Commission also administers a companion, $100 million pool set aside for emergency repairs. Recipients are limited to $500,000. No local matching funds are required, but only the poorest 262 school districts are eligible, leaving the remaining 349 to fend for themselves.
Requests piling up
At the commission's headquarters, a file drawer is quickly filling with requests for money to replace aging boilers, repair leaky roofs, and shore up stonework that had fallen or threatens to fall from building facades.
Inspectors visit those seeking the money to see whether they qualify.
The Hamilton City Schools in Butler County asked for $500,000 but received $293,000 for roof repairs and boiler replacements. "It's a start," said Everett Mann, administrative assistant for business planning. "We've identified about $43 million in needed repairs."
Clay High School was among the first approved for a $500,000 emergency grant.
Check the foundation
Superintendent Ted Adams said the rural district plans to hire an architectural and engineering firm to help decide how best to spend the money. The top priority, he said, is the high school, where one corner is slowly slipping off the foundation.
Students are not in any physical danger, he said, but engineers check the school every month - just in case. The cost: $250.
Unlike some districts that refuse to pass bond levies for school construction, Clay voters passed a 2.5-mill improvement levy, but it generates just $70,000 annually in the property-poor region - not enough, he said, to cover routine maintenance.
Mr. Adams emphasized that he is grateful for the money and said he's watching with interest as members of the the General Assembly continue to discuss ways to satisfy the court.
Lawmakers defeated Gov. George Voinovich's plan to place before voters a one cent sales tax increase. It would have generated an additional $1 billion annually, with much of the money earmarked for school facilities during the first five years.
"We'll just sit back and wait and see what they do next," Mr. Adams said. "Things can't get much worse."
Waiting for Columbus
Cincinnati Public Schools' request for $500,000 was denied because the district is has been deemed too wealthy to qualify.
District officials sought the money to help pay for $3.7 million in upgrades to fire alarm systems.
"We have fire alarm systems that work but that don't meet code. They are old," explained CPS Vice President Steve Ottemann.
The district will upgrade the alarm systems with money from other funds, and plans to compete for a companion state program that has earmarked $100 million for Cincinnati and the other seven largest urban districts.
That money, however, requires a dollar-for-dollar local match. Mr. Ottemann is not sure how much matching money the district can scrape together.
The district spends about $8 million annually to maintain its 79 buildings. Four of them are over 100 years old, and 21 are more than 75 years old.
A 1993 survey showed it would take about $400 million to bring all 79 CPS buildings up to code.
"Old buildings tend to cost more to maintain," Mr. Ottemann said. "We have slate roofs and copper domes. They are wonderful architecturally but they are expensive to maintain."
