Jordan School District is one step closer to becoming the first district in Utah to sell advertisements on school buses.
The Jordan Board of Education this week hired Alpha Media, a Dallas-based firm, to sell and place ads on Jordan’s 215 buses. The company expects ads to start appearing on buses in the next three to four weeks. Alpha Media already handles school-bus advertising for 20 districts in Texas. It also sells ads for maintenance vehicles for Los Angeles Unified School District in California.
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Jordan’s policyon bus ads
Advertisements shall:
Be age appropriate.
Not promote any substance or activity that is illegal for minors, such as alcohol, tobacco or gambling.
Not promote any political party, candidate or issue.
Not promote sexual material of any kind.
Not promote any religious organization.
Not promote any competing educational organizations to include, but not limited to, charter schools, private schools or any other non-Jordan School District K-12 school entity.
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Under the contract, Jordan will keep 63 percent of gross monthly revenue for the first three years, and 65 percent starting the fourth year. Alpha Media estimates that Jordan’s share will be nearly $1.4 million over a four-year period.
"That would be phenomenal," Jordan spokesman Steve Dunham said Wednesday. "It’s a unique form of revenue for the district that has no impact on our taxpayers. That’s just a wonderful concept."
Last year, the Utah Legislature approved a law that allows advertising on school buses so long as the ads do not cover more than 35 percent of the sides of a bus and don’t contain content that is inappropriate for children, such as alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling or sexual materials. Political ads also are forbidden.
Revenue must go toward district transportation costs. This year, Jordan plans to spend $12 million on transportation. Over the past two years, the district has eliminated so-called "hazardous" bus routes to save $1.2 million. Although not required by state law, the buses were offered at some schools because walking routes were deemed unsafe.
This new source of transportation funding means the Jordan board could look at restoring some of those bus routes in the future, Dunham said.
In its bid for Jordan’s contract, Alpha Media priced ads at $170 to $370 per month, depending on the size and number of ads purchased. Typical buyers include dentists, banks, credit unions, insurance agents, realtors, home builders, car dealers, restaurants, sports programs, colleges and universities. Michael Beauchamp, president and chief executive officer of Alpha Media, said buyers like knowing that most of their dollars go toward supporting local schools.
"With us, you can actually give back to the community," he said. The number of states that allow advertising on school buses is growing, he noted. New Jersey also passed a law last year to permit ads.
"We’re happy to see that," Beauchamp said. "We feel that school districts know their business best."
To see examples of school bus ads sold by Alpha Media, go to schoolbusadvertising.com.
Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
