For the second consecutive legislative session, an Ohio lawmaker is pushing a bill that could result in additional revenue for school districts as they continue to fight the sluggish economy.
SB 174, introduced on May 17 by Democratic Sen. Joe Schiavone, is an exact replica of a bill introduced last year by Rep. Tom Letsen as HB 353. Currently, the Department of Education and the Department of Public Safety prohibit advertisements from being erected on the sides of school buses. If passed, SB 174 would remove this restriction from the state's school bus operations and construction regulations and would allow districts to place ads on either side of the bus.
The state highway patrol would also no longer be able to fail a school bus during inspection because of the ads.
According to a spokesman for Sen. Schiavone, a couple of school districts in Youngstown area that he represents have expressed some interest in external school bus ads to raise revenue.
"If they can get $50,000 to $100,000 and save one or two jobs who are teachers or buy a few things for the school it's a positive, overall," the spokesman added.
However, Pete Japikse, director of transportation at the Ohio Department of Education, said he has yet to hear from any districts that are interested in school bus advertising programs. Instead, he said the bill is worrisome because of the possible unintended consequences.
"Ohio, like a lot of other states in the country, has this serious crisis with motorists that are distracted. They're zipping past our buses with red lights and stop arms on," said Japikse. "Now we're going to give something else for mom and dad to look at? Even it if it makes a million dollars, is that worth another kid's life?"
The distraction issue is the crux of student transportation industry opposition to school bus advertising, as noted in separate white papers released this year by NASDPTS and the Florida Association for Pupil Transportation. Both organizations also admit that, to date, there have yet to be any conclusive studies that link vehicle crashes, injuries or fatalities with distractions caused by ads.
SB 174 was not yet assigned to committee at this reporting. Sen. Schiavone's spokesman added that the bill was also being prepared as an amendment that could be rolled into the state budget. But, he added, an amendment could be difficult to pass due to the Republican majority in the legislature. Meanwhile, Japikse said Sen. Schiavone would need to prove to the legislature that the bill could help solve the state's budget deficit that has grown to more than $8 billion.