In 2009, after the economic downturn, the District had to make large budget cuts to lower costs, and many programs suffered as a result of this. If the District allowed advertising in schools, it would help revenue and allow the District to sponsor more programs.
Many schools across the country are turning to advertising as a source of revenue for the school, and as a result are able to keep the programs they have, or even able to sponsor new programs in the school.
In the recession America has faced in recent years, schools have started to come up short financially in many areas. For LZHS, transportation has been a major funding issue. Starting in the 2010-2011 school year, students who lived within a mile and a half of the school were required to pay to ride the bus, or else walk or arrange for another mode of transportation. A mile and a half is a long walk in a state that has temperatures below freezing during the winter.
A solution schools nationwide have turned to advertising on school buses in order to continue to be able to offer busing to these students. With this type of advertising, companies put their ads on the sides of school buses. Advertising on school buses would have virtually no effect on students and would not be a distraction during the school day.
“School districts say it’s practically free money, and advertisers love the captive audience that school buses provide,” reported ABC News.
Schools have also started to search out sponsors for textbooks and other materials. Many advertisers like these types of opportunities, and many only ask to be able to display a logo on the objects they are sponsoring, according to eHow’s website.
While some may argue that ads in textbooks are a distraction, many textbooks already have an insert from the producer of the book, and pose no disruption to students’ learning. With advertising already present in our textbooks, the benefits of one more insert would far outweigh the cons. There are even companies dedicated to connecting schools to businesses that would like to advertise.
Education Funding Partners (EFP) is one such company. They have been working towards putting $100 million of unrestricted cash into America’s school districts, according to their website.
“The key is making sure districts have the final say over corporate messages and how they are displayed. EFP is sensitive to finding positive messages that fit in school settings,” according to the EFP website. “It’s a great example of where corporate social responsibility and educational needs [to] intersect.”
According to a survey conducted by the EFP, 85 percent of parents support sponsorships to help their children, and 75 percent approve of naming rights in schools. With a majority of parents behind this new advertising movement, schools should take advantage of the opportunity to increase revenue and help children have the best possible learning opportunities.
Schools are responsible for helping to provide a quality education to their students, and advertising provides an opportunity to help increase this quality, with no ramifications. Schools should take advantage of this opportunity and advertise.