I don't believe in holding children responsible for the poor decisions of adults.

That's why I rejoiced when the bond levy for Cincinnati Public Schools passed Tuesday, even though it was by just a couple of thousand votes.

Anyone walking the hallways of some of Cincinnati's schools can see students who deserve a better environment - at least roofs that don't leak and windows that keep out the weather.

No students should be saddled with inadequate school facilities just because some administrators mismanaged resources or neglected buildings.

Now students can look forward to something good - 35 new schools and 31 renovated ones over the next 10 years.

'Don't trust them'

Yet I hear and heed the arguments of those who objected to the levy. Many made irrefutable points that I consider well-put warnings to taxpayers.

• "Don't trust the CPS board with the money," several readers told me.

They're right. We need to be ultra-vigilant about how all this money will be spent.

The plans for each new and renovated building, construction contracts, and the related audits will all be public information, said Mike Geoghegan, CPS treasurer.

Taxpayers should take a look.

Superintendent Alton Frailey and others on the school board have said that the people who made poor decisions about upkeep of CPS buildings are either gone or no longer in charge.

I'll take them at their word, with this caveat: School officials should make plain who is in charge of keeping up the new buildings.

Put those names and numbers on the CPS Web site and on every piece of paper sent home to CPS parents.

And parents should volunteer in - or at least visit - CPS buildings to make sure the educational environment improves.

• "New buildings aren't the answer to all of CPS' academic problems" was also a common refrain.

This is partly right. New buildings are part of the answer, but maybe not the biggest part.

I suspect that new books, more and better computers, more school counselors and tutors, and more motivated teachers all could contribute to significant jumps in student test scores, graduation rates and attendance trends.

But the levy won't pay for those things.

Money's just a start

It will pay for clean, inviting, functional school buildings, which can be education motivators in their own right, resetting young minds and reinforcing adult expectations for success.

The levy also will pay for new chairs and desks, science labs, lockers, cafeterias and gymnasiums.

That's a start.

• "The money will go to raises and administrative expenses," a couple of readers predicted, or "to a few lucky architects and construction firms," others said.

CPS officials emphatically deny this.

There is language in the levy and in state law that forbids spending these funds on anything other than building and renovating schools, Geoghegan said.

And while just three construction firms and two "master architects" will manage the school projects, many architectural and construction firms will be involved, he said.

The school board also is launching a program to attract and help expand locally owned small and minority-owned businesses to help them obtain bonding, financing and capital.

The board's "aspirational goal" is to direct about 20 percent of the projects to minority-owned companies, he said.

It's true that the bond levy is an expensive gamble.

Parents, teachers and administrators still hold all the cards.

E-mail damos@enquirer.com or phone 768-8395