School districts continue to look for ways to save money, and one in Texas decided recently to use school bus ads to save some.
Rolling school bus billboards have traditionally been a sticky one, ever since they first started being seen sin the mid-1990s, first in Colorado followed by about a dozen states including Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee and . The South Carolina Board of Education began allowing school districts to place ads inside school buses in 2008, and the same year New Jersey tried to pass a law. Cash-strapped Michigan has also considered them.
Opponents have said children are already subject to too many messages from advertisers, and school buses are purchased with public money and not appropriate tools to be used for plugging products and services. And there are the safety concerns that other motorists are already too distracted behind the wheel. Then there are concerns about the appropriateness of ads.
But the economy sold Eanes ISD in Austin, Texas, on the idea as about $140,000 to $150,000 in revenue is expected each year. The school board squeaked out a 4-3 vote to approve ads starting this coming school year. News reports indicate that the ads will appear on the sides of the bus and on the rear of the bus above the windows.
Transportation Director Tim Wysong said the additional money will cover fleet operations costs, especially that of fuel.
The board also will set “strict guidelines” on what kind of ads are accepted.
What do you think about school bus ads? A good idea? Bad?
