Its main entrance is bathed in daylight through a tall glass ceiling even on cloudy mornings such as Friday's, one of the finer features of the first high school renovated last decade by Toledo Public Schools.
But nearby, water stains on office ceiling tiles tell the other side of the story on Toledo's massive public-school construction initiative. The Building for Success program, a nearly decade-long project with a $635 million price tag, will end this year. Students will occupy the rebuilt and replaced schools, and about two dozen old buildings will be demolished.
The program's scale is impressive, with dozens of buildings rebuilt or remolded. In essence, Toledo Public Schools overhauled almost its entire physical infrastructure since dignitaries in 2003 broke ground at the first site. Project leaders avoided major scandals common with plans so complicated and expansive.
Yet, despite the overall success, persistent problems remain, even as Building for Success nears completion. Two schools are so crowded that buildings scheduled for demolition still house students. And roofs leak at nearly two dozen new schools. The defects so infuriate Board of Education members that several recently urged administrators to sue those responsible.
"I don't care if we have to sue people or call bonds in," board member Larry Sykes said. "Make it clear that we are not going to be held liable for problems at these facilities."
Leaky roofs at Rogers High School are nothing new.
Despite re-opening in 2006, Rogers has faced consistent problems with leaks, especially when snow accumulates. A leak in the building's main office grew so serious that most of the ceiling tiles collapsed one weekend, an employee said, nearly blocking the office's entrance.
Now the employee said she has a leak in her office, with a hole cut into a tile so that water can drain into a waste bin.
The Building for Success program was a collaboration between Toledo Public Schools and the Ohio School Facilities Commission. The state commission covers 77 percent of the projects' costs, with the other 23 percent funded by voter-approved bonds sold in 2003 by the district.
To manage the program, the partners contracted with a construction management team of Lathrop Co., Barton Marlow, and R. Gant LLC. That team oversees much of the projects' day-to-day operations. Messages left with the group for this and other recent stories were not returned.
All told, the team will have built or renovated about 3.5 million square feet at 44 sites, and spent $635 million. Most involved agree the project has been largely a success, though there have been hitches along the way.
Communities got new schools, with technological upgrades that are more energy efficient. Beyond the schools built, Board of Education president Lisa Sobecki pointed to construction jobs the initiative sustained during a troubled time for that industry.
"Had we not had this," she said, "how many more people would have been out of jobs?"
Along the way, some decisions generated unforeseen consequences. Value engineering decisions helped cut costs in some places, TPS chief business manager Jim Gant said, but left results that are unacceptable.
"I don't care what we decided," TPS chief business manager Jim Gant said. "We didn't decide to have roof leaks."
State officials also initially opposed building commissioning. That opposition increased the likelihood the district received buildings with flaws. That policy was changed, Mr. Gant said, and many of the roof leaks were from those constructed before buildings were commissioned.
Meanwhile, another element of the project has left school board members with unexpected decisions. Both Marshall and Whittier elementary schools are overcrowded, partly because of the district's recent move to replace separate elementary and junior-high schools with K-8 buildings. Because the OSFC provides funding based on overall district enrollment, and not individual schools' size, new state funding for additions is unavailable.
So even when students enter the new Marshall -- one of the last schools to reopen -- the project may not be complete.
At the Board of Education last week, board members expressed frustration not just with the continued flaws, but also the district's apparent inability to get contractors to fix the problems. Some suggested increased scrutiny of buildings before the district takes ownership. Others endorsed aggressive acts to hold others to account.
Mr. Gant said both the construction management team and OSFC officials expressed a "full commitment" to address the problems, and the three now meet weekly for updates. A third party is assessing buildings, and the district will then address firms about the findings.
For instance, a Dec. 2 memo from Mr. Gant to board members addressed roof leaks at East Broadway Elementary, calling the school a "constant source of problems." Business staff intended to meet with legal staff to decide if legal action should be pursued against contractor Rudolph/Libbe or architect Munger & Munger.
"We have not been contacted about any recent issues," Gary Haas, Rudolph/Libbe's vice president of contracts administration, said in a statement. "There have been issues in the past, and we've been very attentive in addressing them."
Charles Moyer of Mosser Construction, which installed the roof at Rogers, said the company was never contacted about leaks, and said he was unaware of any problems at the school.
Mr. Sykes later questioned why the buildings' problems are only being addressed now, at the tail end of the Building for Success program, when many warranties are up. Ms. Sobecki, who has chaired a board committee charged with building project oversight, said she has raised concerns about building flaws repeatedly.
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