School bus advertising a hard sell

Kentucky is considering school bus advertising today as it was considered across the country in 2001 at the height of this century's first economic decline: to offset education costs. But few states have signed on to allowing open advertising on school buses. Tennessee does, as well as Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. A few other states allow interior school bus ads.

Interestingly, when arguments can be found for and against any topic, especially the controversial ones — which usually include any affecting people's food, children and taxes — those opposed to school bus advertising seem to far outweigh those supporting it.

For example:

Bus advertising helps pay for academic programs the same way field advertising has helped pay for sports programs.

Little support, much more in opposition. In fact, the few states allowing school buses to carry advertising are not boasting bolstered budget bottom lines for education from their programs.

An ad company in Houston claimed that a bus ad program would amount to thousands of — if not a cool million — dollars of additional revenue, with good local support. Friendswood Independent School District signed on. But in the first six months, school bus advertising only brought the schools $955 in new money. The city, comparable in size to Paducah, is an affluent suburb of Houston. The local newspaper, the Friendswood News, reported this morning that job cuts and larger class sizes are now part of the district's continuing plan to deal with diminishing revenue. No mention was made of promoting its school bus advertising program.

Bus advertising creates traffic hazards. Bus advertising is no more distracting than billboards and business signs.

The former garners more support than the latter. A Florida Association for Pupil Transportation report published last month, taking a position against school bus advertising, laid out some salient points. The report cites a July 2008 National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey that shows of the more than 800,000 crashes in the U.S. over the 30-month study period, drivers simply not paying attention to the road and external distractions — such as those that school bus advertising would cause, opponents say — were responsible for more than 143,000 or just over 17 percent of the collisions.

The report adds that nationally an average of 19 school children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes each year. On average, five of those 19 victims are occupants of school transportation vehicles and 14 are pedestrians who vehicles hit. Thousands more are injured badly enough to require emergency room medical care.

Opponents say that advertising on school buses would detract attention away from the visible safety precautions on school buses today: the distinctive yellow color, the flashing amber lights and the protruding stop signs offering a warning to oncoming drivers. This all could increase the number of transportation-related tragedies, the report states.

Advertising is free speech and should be allowed. Controlling advertising content and placement is difficult, possibly even a First Amendment challenge.

This time it seems to be the latter ahead of the former. Although no freedom of speech challenges have come from such advertising, schools should not leave themselves open to having to make such decisions by stepping into the bus advertising arena. A school district forced to defend itself against a First Amendment lawsuit might end up spending more than the bus advertising brought into its coffers ($995 to Friendswood, Texas, in six months).

From the Florida report, citing support from a 1996 Indiana state legal opinion, "Supporters of advertising on school buses believe that committees should be formed to establish criteria for the appropriateness of advertising, and believe the criteria will protect them from legal action. The fact of the matter is that such criteria may be challenged in court, and it is impossible for anyone to predict the likelihood of success of any legal challenge to restricting the type of advertising on school buses. While legal challenges to state or local policies may or may not occur, the potential of a lawsuit is always present."

State finances are on shaky ground across the country. When money is tight for any business, it is good business to be creative and seek ways to increase revenue rather than cut expenses. Although the creativity in Frankfort should be applauded, government is not a business. And good government cuts expenses during tough economic times rather than seek little-tried — and possibly troublesome ways — of raising money.