A magneto timer buzzed as the crew of young men crowded around the airplane engine, temporarily flummoxed.

"Everything's all backward," Ricky McCrum said.

Chase Woolley agreed. "Yeah, this engine is weird," he said.

Despite the crews' youth, though, they didn't stay stumped long, and set the engine to start properly. They might not be expert aviation mechanics, but they're certainly qualified to troubleshoot on an engine.

The crew of Toledo Public Schools seniors -- who range in age from 17 to 20 -- received their airframe mechanic certification this school year from the Federal Aviation Administration, with training free of charge through the district.

The aviation program is one of the more exotic vocational education programs TPS provides. Housed at Toledo Express Airport, the three-year program is affiliated with Bowsher High School, but students from throughout the area attend. It's one of only four high school programs in the state that provides FAA mechanic certification training, head teacher Nick Herman said.

Though the district no longer has a large, dedicated vocational school after it closed Macomber-Whitney two decades ago, TPS still sports a robust career technology system housed at its high schools. The district has 45 programs with about 1,700 students either in programs or pathway courses.

There's renewed focus lately on vocational education. Both Gov. John Kasich and President Obama mentioned in recent high-profile speeches the need for strong vocational programs alongside college education.

There's no guarantee those words turn into increased financial support. The main source of federal money for vocational education, Perkins funding, saw cuts in recent years, and state funding has been frozen.

But while funds remain tight, the public highlighting of vocational education has advocates such as Daphne Derden-Willis hoping new support could be on the way.

"There seems to be a drumbeat that is getting louder and louder in support of career technology," TPS' acting director for career technology said.

Continued unemployment and rthe rising cost of college help feed that drumbeat. American students keep heading to college and amassing debt, despite poor job prospects in many sectors.

Beyond funding, though, the biggest hurdle in expanding vocational education programs just may be public perception, Mr. Herman and Ms. Derden-Willis said. The programs can be seen as limiting to some students and parents, who have been told college is their key to economic advancement. "People used to see career technology as the dirty jobs for kids who weren't smart," she said.

Career technology programs these days are sophisticated and demanding, Mr. Herman said, because the jobs they train students for have advanced.

Take the aviation program.

Students take traditional coursework at their home schools while they master the mechanics. The training for FAA certification is a time-consuming affair -- 1,900 hours before testing -- and to fit it all in, students start their school day an hour before other high school students. Mr. McCrum wakes up at 6 a.m. every day; Mr. Woolley, about 5:30 a.m.

It's a significant commitment, and about 40 percent of students wash out at some point, Mr. Herman said.

But the payoff is real. The same programs at private institutions would cost students thousands of dollars. In the TPS program, they graduate with a high school diploma, FAA certification, and no debt.

And while the recent woes of Toledo Express Airport have made local aviation-related jobs harder to find, Mr. Herman said his students have no problem finding jobs, just maybe not in Toledo.

And as this year's senior class shows, vocational education doesn't mean no college.

Mr. McCrum will go to school to become a pilot. Kevyn Waite will take his mechanical skills next year to the nearby Air National Guard base. Austin Eubank is pairing his high school work with online college courses, and will graduate with an associate's degree. Leonard Kaczmark II is heading to Oklahoma to study aeronautics and technology.

When Mr. Woolley first joined the aviation program, he felt the stigma of vocational school, and didn't want anyone to know where he attended, he said. Not anymore.

"I know in the future," Mr. Woolley said, "I'll be better off than the next guy."

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086.

First Published February 11, 2012, 5:00 a.m.