Advertising More Tempting for Schools

It is no secret that schools across the nation are really suffering. Advertising is the new way for schools to make up for money that is lost in revenue. Schools are constantly seeing a drop in income due to enrollment and government cutbacks. The Twin Cities Township as come up with a new and creative way to create revenue for the school.

Schools are getting creative with the type of advertising that they are doing. Numerous people visit a school website on a daily basis. Advertisements can be placed on the school website to help bring revenue into the school. Some schools are using buses as a form of advertisement to help generate an additional income for the school. It is not every day you see a school bus driving down the road with advertisements. However, some schools see this as a controversial subject. “To do advertising, you’re walking that fine line,” says Hawley, Minn., Superintendent Phil Jensen.

If the funding to these schools gets cut any further, there will be no choice but to become creative. A school cannot just make money out of the blue and most schools are trying to be prepared for the day they need to bring in additional revenue. One school in the Minnesota area uses a board in the gymnasium to advertise to perspective consumers. This does not bring in a ton of income but it does help cover some costs. One cost the advertisement helps to provide for is the first aid kits, uniforms and equipment for the school.

Lockers are also an open ball game when it comes to advertisement. While some schools may use this as a form of advertisement, this has not hit Minnesota yet. “We don’t do anything on lockers … and I don’t know if we would in the future,” Froke said. But if budgets get tight, “that might be something that we’d explore.” Doug Froke is the superintendent of Detroit Lakes, Michigan.

Schools all over the country are experimenting with advertising to see what brings in the most income. Most of the ads that are put on lockers are directly aimed to the students. In some situations it is not hard to find schools but it is hard to find advertisers. Companies are not always sure that schools are the right place for their ads.

Some schools are coming into contact with issues from the school codes of ethics. However, it comes down to bringing in an income or letting the school’s budget suffer. If a company was to donate money to produce a facility, there are some rights protecting the school. The company would have to fork over at least 25% of the total cost to build the facility.

If a school chooses to advertise on the walls and lockers, then they are dealing with a whole new can of worms. The whole school may lose the original focus of what it should be doing, which is instruction.