By the time Toledo votes on the 7.8 mill levy for Toledo Public Schools, the projected $30 million deficit could be $38 million.

Preliminary attendance figures released by the school system show a loss of 1,391 students. If that number holds steady, the school system will lose an estimated $8.1 million in state funding.

The school board wants you to cover this deficit. If you own a home valued at $100,000 you might be able to absorb another $239 a year in taxes if you weren’t still feeling the effects of the Big Recession. But, most of you are. A recent Brookings Institution study showed that, between 2000 to 2008, household income in Toledo dropped from $51,998 to $44,548, a 14.3 percent decline, the third largest among the nation’s top metropolitan areas.

Given this economic situation the chances of the November levy passing are slim, despite threats of more cut backs in sports, transportation and, ironically, the most successfully of TPS’s programs.

So, where should new money come from, if not from the homeowner?

Wooing back disgruntled customers would be a good start. According to figures released from TPS, some 7,600 Toledo students have chosen charter schools over TPS. State funding totaling an estimated $44 million followed them.

Brian Murphy, assistant superintendent of secondary schools for TPS, said in a Press interview the district is in the process of surveying these families to see why they left. Gee, that’s not a bad idea. Twenty-five percent of your customer base leaves and you’re just now getting around to finding out why?

While there are a few obvious reasons for this flight to charter schools there is one very disturbing question.

First, the obvious reasons. Some charter schools offer specialized education. The Toledo School for the Arts, for example, prepares its 397 students for both college and a career in the arts. It earned a designation of Excellent by the Ohio Department of Education. Other specialized schools include the Maritime Academy, which prepares students for careers on the Great Lakes, the Autism Academy and The Autism Model School.

Factoring out these four schools and looking at 27 other charter schools whose designation can be found on the Ohio Department of Education’s website, 15, or 55 percent, are in Academic Emergency or Academic Watch. None are rated Excellent and only two are rated Effective.

Compare these ratings with those of Toledo Public Schools. Of 58 schools with designations, 19, or 33 percent, are in Academic Emergency or Academic Watch. Eighteen are rated Excellent or Effective and 21 are designated Continuous improvement.

So, if test results aren’t driving parents to schools that don’t offer sports what does?

Is it fear of gangs?

Is it hopelessness?

Is it the berating of your child by peers who don’t value education?

Is it a parental lack of faith in TPS teachers?

Seems to me, TPS can’t find these reasons fast enough.

Given the rate in which Toledo students flock to charter schools, you’d assume TPS would lose many more students to suburban districts through open enrollment. However, that is not the case.

Toledo, in the 2009-2010 school year, lost the equivalent of 217 full-time students, but the district attracted 209 full-time students from neighboring districts.

You read that right. Students from suburban districts want to go to Toledo schools. The reasons vary, according to assistant superintendent for secondary schools Murphy. They include the expected-- the family moves but the student wants to stay with his peers—to the unexpected—TPS has some unique advantages suburban schools do not. Here are a few:

• The Toledo Technology Academy: A high school designated Excellent by the Ohio Department of Education, it offers a program of integrated academic and technical education to prepare students for a career in manufacturing technologies. Enrollment: 181

• Toledo Early College High School: Also designated Excellent, this high school, which is located on the campus of the University of Toledo, gives students the chance to earn 60 credit hours of college credits while earning a high school diploma. Enrollment: 204.

• Toledo Public Schools Aviation Center: Prepares students to become FAA certified aviation mechanics.

The first two are reportedly on the closure block if the levy fails. Both are designated Excellent by the Ohio Department of Education. They are two of the eight TPS schools so designated.

Does this make sense? You sometimes wonder if education is truly about the kids.

In addition to these creative programs, TPS has forged relationships with local universities and colleges to bring the dream of college closer to reality for students of limited financial means.

The University of Toledo’s Blue and Gold Scholar Award program covers the cost of full tuition after state and federal aid for students who graduate from a TPS high school with a 3.0 GPA and meet Pell Grant requirements. Most Pell recipients have parents who make less than $20,000 but can make up to $50,000 depending on family size, number of students in college and other factors.

Owens Community College has a similar program for any student who qualifies for partial financial aid. There is no GPA requirement.

A third program, the GEAR-UP program, administered by Bowling Green State University, aims to prepare high school students from designated poverty schools for college. Last year, 64 students from Waite received an average of $2,201 to attend college at BGSU, UT or Owens.

There are a lot of good reasons to attend a Toledo Public School. Competing for the hearts and minds of those who have left TPS for charter schools along with their estimated $44 million might produce a better result than digging into the pockets of Toledoans still reeling from the Big Recession.

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