About Toledo's Old South End

Toledo Public Schools has announced the closing of Libbey High School after the present school year. Libbey dates back to the early 1900s and was a nationally recognized football powerhouse. Later in the 1960-70s, it became a dominant force in the Ohio basketball scene. Standing like the monument it is on Western Avenue, Libbey was the high school of South Toledo prior to the establishment of Bowsher which followed the suburban sprawl of the 1950-60s. It was the school of countless community leaders and not-so-average everyday Toledoans who made the city flourish in the late 1900s. Threatened with closure several times prior, Libbey survived due to, I suspect, political decisions which recognized that closing such an institution where so many influencial citizens graduated would be costly at the polls. Substantial improvements were made to the school over the past decade which brings to question the long-term vision of the leadership. Schools need to be run like businesses and conform to new technology and economic changes as well as population and funding changes.

So with the respect it deserves, we say so long to Libbey High School of Toledo, Ohio.