House Passes Bill To Allow Ads On School Buses Proposal Backed As Money Maker, Derided As Intrusion On Children’s Lives

Barbie, the Power Rangers and McDonald’s Happy Meals may soon be hawked on school buses.

The House passed a bill on Monday that would allow advertising on buses if approved by local school boards.

Under the two-paragraph measure, HB2721, school boards also would decide the content of the ads. Money from advertising would go into the district’s general fund.

Rep. Duane Sommers, R-Spokane, said as long as the ads aren’t harmful to students or distracting to drivers, it’s a good idea.

Sommers said bus advertising would be a small step toward local control of school money and self-supporting schools.

“We should give it a try and see what happens,” he said.

Rep. Dennis Dellwo, D-Spokane, was among 35 House members who voted against the measure. He said it allows advertising to creep even further into children’s lives.

“Kids see enough advertising on television,” Dellwo said. “It would be quite a burden on the school board to ensure that the advertising would be healthy and acceptable to parents.”

Robert Fukai, Spokane School District board member, said he’d consider advertising if it would help schools cover rising costs.

Patty Minnihan, a board member of the Central Valley School District, said her initial reaction was to reject bus advertising out of hand.

But after thinking about it, Minnihan said the measure makes sense. “If there is an opportunity to raise revenues that is in accordance with our goals, we should examine it.”

Craig Holmes, another Central Valley board member, said the community would be consulted before putting billboards on buses.

“We’ll have to talk to the public and see what they think of it,” he said.

The Colorado Springs School District pioneered school-bus advertising in 1994. Buses there have gone from basic yellow to colorful messages promoting Seven-Up and Burger King.

So far, the signs have raised $54,000 for schools.

Tracy Cooper, Colorado Springs district spokesperson, said the money helps schools through difficult financial times. Proposed district levies have failed 10 straight times.

“We have been real pleased with the response we have gotten to our campaign from the community,” Cooper said. “We didn’t get as much revenue as we expected, though.”

Colorado Springs recently signed a new advertising agency that promises $100,000 in gross revenue in the first year.

Cooper said the district spent a year drawing guidelines for advertising. The school board and parents banned advertising that promotes violence and disorder; attacks racial, ethnic or religious groups; carries political or religious messages; and promotes merchandise that is dangerous or harmful to kids, such as guns and cigarettes.

Cooper said most of the ads aren’t aimed at students at all. Instead, they try to open the wallets of parents by selling cruise packages and haircuts.

Other ads include one from a local utility that promotes staying away from downed power lines, and another sponsored by Pepsi that urges kids to stay in school.

The Washington bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

, DataTimes