Leaking roofs, stained ceilings, drafty windows, rusted plumbing: Many Cincinnati Public schools are in terrible shape. It's a disgrace.

But why?

The typical answer is public neglect. The same cold-hearted voters who built sports palaces on the riverfront are too stingy to replace decaying schools for inner-city kids. We hear it like a dripping faucet: The schools are old. They're falling apart. It's your fault.

But what about Roger Bacon High School in St. Bernard, which is 75 years old but looks like it was unwrapped yesterday? The halls are immaculate. The boys' bathrooms are cleaner than some restaurants. The cafeteria looks like a time capsule from 1940, and the lockers look as good as a new box of crayons on the first day of school.

Keep it clean

"First of all, the discipline is good here," says Assistant Principal Chuck Grosser, who runs discipline and maintenance at the Catholic co-ed school. "I think that is key."

Teachers monitor the halls and report the slightest scratch, and it is repaired immediately, he said. Burned-out light bulbs are replaced before they get a chance to cool.

Students get the message. It's not exactly trigonometry. The best way to keep a school clean is (surprise!) to keep it clean.

I'm no construction expert. But Tim Carter is. And the "Ask the Builder" columnist in the Enquirer thinks CPS has done a lousy job of maintaining its buildings.

"Why should I give CPS another half-billion dollars to burn through?" he asked, referring to the $480 million construction levy defeated Nov. 6. "Why didn't they budget enough money for regular and timely maintenance so that the current buildings would be in good or even very good condition?"

Good question. My guess is that buildings don't speak up at board meetings when unions and administrators slice up the budget pie.

Mr. Carter got fed up by the leaky-faucet stories from CPS, and volunteered to show me some antique schools that are in cherry condition. Such as Roger Bacon, which serves the same neighborhoods that CPS serves. Such as St. Vincent Ferrer Elementary in Kenwood, named after the patron saint of builders, where the linoleum tile laid when the school was built in 1959 still shines like polished green apples.

1912, but like new

St. Vincent Principal Blane Collison credits his maintenance crew. Although his classrooms are being expanded, he says that won't make a big difference in test scores.

"The kids learn no less and no better because you're in a 40-year-old building," he said.

Next stop was St. Cecilia grade school in Oakley, built in 1912, before World War I. The gym floor used by 207 students in grades K-8 looks like an infomercial for miracle floor wax.

"Every year, a group of dads comes in and refinishes the floor," said Mr. Carter, who has resurfaced floors at St. Cecilia.

Volunteer help. Good maintenance. Strong discipline. Sturdy building materials. These are the lessons CPS needs to learn.

And stop blaming taxpayers.

E-mail pbronson@enquirer.com or call 768-8301.