Leaking roofs don't have a religion. So why does the rain come in on kids in dilapidated public schools while older Catholic schools stay dry?

It's not just local. "If you were to look at communities all over Ohio you would find the same thing," said Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox.

I found it in Cincinnati by touring Catholic schools such as Roger Bacon, still "like new" at age 75. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Public Schools wants a $480 million levy to replace buildings half as old.

As I said Friday, the typical excuse is to blame stingy taxpayers for buying new stadiums while neglecting poor, urban public schools.

But that graffiti won't wash.

It's not money

Local Catholic schools spend less than $5,700 per student, according to Dan Andriacco of the Cincinnati Archdiocese. CPS spends nearly $10,000.

Ohio Rep. Tom Brinkman wants to know where the money went. "The failure of the Cincinnati School Board to maintain the schools with the multimillions they already have is the issue," he said. As a leader of Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, he said, "COAST will continue to fight the bond issue until the Cincinnati School Board demonstrates to the public that it has the ability to maintain their buildings properly."

Spokeswoman Jan Leslie admits CPS dropped the mop bucket. "We did cut maintenance in the 1990s. We could have put far more money into buildings."

And it's not simple

But it's not that simple. As Mr. Andriacco said, private schools "have more flexibility." Catholic schools are not handcuffed by red tape and union demands that drain maintenance budgets for salary hikes. Even simple discipline of students who vandalize schools can be blocked by parents who protest or just don't care.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get some students to obey the rules?" said Elaine Burns, administrative assistant at Amelia High School, "and how many times they get to return to school and continue to ignore them before you can send them home for good? Private schools have a definite advantage in that matter."

Lakota Schools teacher Valerie Reed said, "It is really a moral problem. We take away discipline, worth of human life and standards. There are no absolutes. Those who do value human life, believe in discipline and standards have taken their children to the parochial schools that still teach morals. Those children who are left in the public school, who belong to families who care, are vastly outnumbered by those whose families do not."

I set out to compare buildings and wound up comparing a lot more than bricks and shingles.

For the record: Many public schools are in good condition. Many CPS problems, such as obsolete heating and plumbing, go beyond maintenance.

Punishing CPS students today for the mistakes of the past is as silly as blaming taxpayers for leaking roofs.

But before voters give CPS $480 million, they need to know the new schools will be properly maintained.

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