School board moves forward with idea of bus advertising

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Bobby Ray Elementary students board a school bus yesterday afternoon. If the school board proceeds with current plans, local buses could soon include ads. (James Clark photo)

School bus advertising came one step closer to reality Tuesday night as the Warren County Board of Education approved on first read a policy permitting the ads on wheels.

The move came after last month’s board meeting in which Baxter-based advertising salesman Joe Herrin told board members such a program could net the school system at least $150,000 a year – all for very little effort on the system’s part.

“This is something where we have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” said school board Transportation Committee chairman David Sneed. “If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just call it quits and we won’t be out anything.”

While the board passed the bus advertising policy unanimously, opposition to the idea was voiced by the system’s director of transportation, Melissa Orrick, who oversees the county’s 52-bus fleet.

Both last month and Tuesday night she expressed several concerns, including that her department would be required to spend additional man hours attaching the signs and that in attaching them would create holes in the bodies of the buses. These are holes which could rust if the signs were removed.

The policy passed on first read Tuesday night was drawn up by board attorney Michael Galligan. It allows the placement of commercial advertisements on all county busses, but states that the ads must comply with the rules and regulations of the state Board of Education and the state Department of Safety.

These regulations include that:

• Ads shall only be permitted on the rear quarter panels of the bus with no more than two advertisements per rear quarter allowed.

• The size of ads will not exceed 16 inches in height and 60 inches in length, including border or framing.

• The ads shall consist of black lettering on a white background.

• No ads of alcohol or tobacco shall be permitted and political ads shall be expressly prohibited.

• Ads shall not cover any structural sheet or metal damage or alteration.

Before taking effect, the proposed school bus advertising policy must be passed by the board for a second time, which will most likely happen next month. Only then, board members noted, will the board negotiate an advertising contract.