Marc Horner, fleet manager for Jefferson County Public Schools, walks near buses with advertisements on their sides at the school’s maintenance facility in Lakewood, Colo. Some school leaders in Georgia want to follow Colorado’s lead and allow businesses to buy advertising space on school property.ATLANTA – High schools have displayed advertisements on football fields for years, but one metro Atlanta school district hopes to slap the logos of major national companies on cafeteria trays, auditorium seat backs and salad bar sneeze guards to bring in money.
The proposal before the Douglas County school board would mean the district’s 37 schools could sell ad space pretty much anywhere in the building that’s not a classroom. That could include napkins in the cafeteria, hallway floors, on instruments in the marching band and on the school’s website.
“We’ve got to look for alternative funding,” said school board member Mike Miller. “If done right, this could be a win-win for the system, for our children and for business.”
It isn’t the first time a Georgia district tried selling ad space to make money, but it’s part of a growing trend of schools across the country turning to corporate partnerships to make up for dwindling tax dollars.
In Georgia, Cobb County sells space on the signs outside high schools and on school websites. The Atlanta school board just voted to allow advertising space on athletic fields.