Advertising on School Grounds for Dearborn Schools

The public schools of Dearborn are being cautious when it comes to allowing advertisements to be placed on school premises. The board had recently asked the policy committee to take a look at the different rules for the district and check out what some of the other schools around the area were doing.

The school board members would like to build up a community committee as a means of receiving input from the residents of the community. However, they are not sure how to go about pulling that specific community committee group together.

Aimee Blackburn, a Board Member, has said, “I think we already do a lot of advertising in our schools.” Blackburn says this because the district gets a deal on all Coke products because they have the Coke machines placed within their high schools. Blackburn also says that many defibrillator machines were donated to the school as well, all of which feature a logo from the company that makes these products.

Blackburn says, “As a board member, I want consistency.” She began making these comments after attending a presentation which was made by David Mustonen, the Communications Coordinator. Mustonen also believes advertisements are all over the school, from the Aeropostale hoodies that many students wear to the Campbell’s Collection Bins that are placed within the school for the Labels for Education, which helps provide assistance to schools. Mustonen made an extensive list of pros and cons of advertising within the school and says that advertising within the school could, in fact, create nearly $100,000 each year for the school district. He says, “This is not a slam dunk that yes we are going to do this or no we are not.”

Dearborn did a survey of many other schools in the area and found out that nearly 10 out of 16 different schools incorporate some type of advertising. Advertisements within the school are often featured on banners at athletic events, including football and basketball games amongst various other events. Some schools have advertisements featured on school buses and lockers, or even on the floors of the school.

Advertisements within the school are a good way for these schools to earn some revenue, which is definitely needed. It is also a good way to make a partnership for the entire community. But, there are some people who just do not like the idea of children being exposed to so many advertisements. They also worry that the advertisements will be completely appropriate for the students. Mustonen says it would obviously be important to figure out which companies and products could and would be advertised and which ones obviously would not be allowed, such as alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. Mustonen says the district will also need to work on figuring out who will be in charge of the advertising for the school.