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Bus ads could generate millions for school districts
By Scott Miller
Staff Writer
A desperate need for school funding around the state could subject children to advertising and marketing campaigns that some parents can’t afford, but that could put millions into district coffers.
Print ads may soon be papering the interior of public school buses throughout the state.
Each ad is subject to both district and state approval, and ads related to tobacco, alcohol and politics are among those already prohibited.
Ads for colleges, tech schools and military branches, meanwhile, are likely to be popular.
But officials must decide whether to authorize advertisers to push the latest cell phones, the trendiest fashions and the fattiest foods to children.
“We’re competing with this marketing campaign as parents, when the children want to watch certain movies or wear certain jeans,” said Sheri Few, president and CEO of S.C. Parents Involved in Education, a grassroots group based in Lugoff.
“It’s already hard for some parents who can’t afford the latest and greatest, and children already face enough peer pressure,” she added. “Advertising is designed to compel a viewer to buy.”
Hard to pass up revenue
But for schools, the potential revenue is hard to ignore.
The S.C. Department of Education awarded a five-year contract to SAC Inc. of Warrenville, S.C., to provide billboard-style advertising inside the state’s school buses, which number more than 5,000. School districts can choose whether to participate; those that choose to do so will receive a combined $2.8 million annually from the ads, the department estimates.
“We couldn’t find a reason why we wouldn’t do this,” said Don Tudor, the department’s director of transportation. “You could easily see this by March and possibly before.”
In addition, the department may install BusRadio, a private radio station played to more than 1 million students in 23 states.
The station, based in Massachusetts, plays an average of four minutes of public service announcements an hour, four minutes of ad messages and 52 minutes of child-friendly music, according to its Web site, www.busradio.net.
The service is free, and schools would share in the company’s ad revenue, though Tudor said it wouldn’t be nearly as lucrative as the deal with SAC.
From SAC ads, participating districts could receive about $2,100 annually per bus, the company estimates. SAC agrees to give 80% of the ad revenue to schools.
Make a decision
“We cannot afford to not at least look at every avenue we have to raise new revenue,” said Elliot Smalley, a spokesman for the Charleston County School District.
The district hasn’t determined whether it will run the ads, as the program just recently became public, Smalley said.
No district has yet agreed to place ads in buses, Tudor said, though the agency is in discussions with the Aiken County School District and Richland School District 2.
“We’re just beginning conversations to take to the board to see if this is something the board and the community would be interested in,” said Aiken Superintendent Beth Everitt, noting the district is far from making a decision.
At first glance, Smalley said he likes the idea, given the potential revenue stream and the district’s ability to screen the ads.
“I know there’s somewhat of a controversy about ads at schools, but I think the state did their homework,” he said.
Establishing oversight
Part of that homework is including a provision in the contract that allows districts to establish oversight committees to approve or reject each ad. The state Department of Education also could reject ads.
SAC President Stuart Carpenter has not been available to discuss bus advertisers, but the company’s Web site, www.schoolbusadvertising.com, describes the ads as “age appropriate.” Ads also will promote a healthy lifestyle, the site states.
SAC prohibits political endorsements, religious promotion or ads for products illegal for minors, like tobacco or alcohol.
The S.C. Parent Teacher Association has not taken a stance yet, said President Phil Clark of Greenville.
“I just hope they maintain the integrity and use strict guidelines with what they allow,” he said.
Scott Miller is a staff writer with the Business Journal. E-mail him at smiller@setcommedia.com.
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