Cleveland Banks on Bond Issue To Repair Aging Facilities

By Karla Scoon Reid

Cleveland

When the roof over East High School's gymnasium collapsed here last fall, renovating and repairing the crumbling building moved from a short list of priorities to among the Ohio school system's most critical needs.

This month, voters must decide whether they will help the 76,000-student district pay the $1.4 billion bill to replace aging roofs, faulty wiring, rotted windows, malfunctioning boilers, and a host of other chronic building problems facing the Cleveland public schools.

The May 8 bond issue would raise $335 million for school construction improvements and would qualify for a match of $500 million in state funding. The measure also would generate about $3 million...