School Bus Transportation News at STN Media

Florida Company Champions Safe,
Conscientious School Bus Advertising

School Bus Media, Inc., takes school-approved, educational advertising targeted towards students inside the yellow bus

By Ryan Gray
Senior Editor

MIAMI - As legislators in Massachusetts fight to repeal a law allowing outside advertising on yellow school buses, a local company is bringing the debate inside.

School Bus Media, Inc., a 4-year-old company based in Miami , is touting school bus ads as the next great means of generating school revenue by promoting healthy lifestyles in children. The difference between its campaign and that in Massachusetts is School Bus Media's ads are placed on the inside of buses as opposed to the outside panels, said company vice president David Hill, Jr.

Of the 37 Florida state school districts approached by School Bus Media, so far only Putnam County in northeast Florida has implemented onboard advertising. The company received a boost on May 19 when the Miami-Dade County school board approved the plan and asked for contract negotiations by this summer. School Bus Media said it also has a proposal before Palm Beach , and that Orange County has recently expressed interest. If all goes well, Hill said the company hopes to expand the program to other states by the end of this year, citing interest from school districts in Ohio and Texas .

"It's been a long haul with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education and the legislation end of it," Hill said. "Finally (school districts) are agreeing that subsidizing education is good. All the districts are just waiting to see what others are doing."

Florida prohibits any advertising on the outside of its school buses. Similar programs are being developed in Pennsylvania , the state's Department of Education confirmed. Nashville ( Tenn. ) Public Schools, which transports about 40,000 students a day on 500 buses, hopes to soon place a proposed school bus advertising program before the school board, said district spokesman Craig Ownesby.

In 1994, a Colorado Springs , Colo. , school district became the first in the nation to implement advertising on school bus exteriors.

In 2000, the 13 th National Conference on School Transportation urged Congress, state governors and transportation directors and the National Highway Safety Administration to disallow external school bus advertising. The body said ads detract from the yellow school bus as a nationally recognized symbol of caution and distract fellow motorists. The Conference adopted National School Bus Yellow in 1939.

Putnam County Transportation Director Ron Dennis said that, despite the reticence of some school districts to approve the program, school bus advertising is the easiest, most non-evasive way for strapped departments to raise money.

"Money is tight all over the country, and Florida is no different," said Dennis. "(School bus advertising) is a win-win situation. There's no way you can lose."

So far, Putnam County , which transports about 1,200 students a day on 115 buses, has so far only been able to run public service announcements. Dennis said his department has experienced no problems with students defacing the banners, and the advertising has caused no distractions or other behavior problems, unlike that which opponents foresee.

Dennis added that his district is "anxiously awaiting" approval by larger districts, so that School Bus Media can secure more advertisers. Miami-Dade County , one of the largest urban school districts in the nation, could hold that key.

The program works with School Bus Media securing all advertising, and the school district retaining full control over the content. Then, when the contract is signed, School Bus Media gives the school district a 25 percent cut of the gross profits.

"School districts don't pay a dime for the ad campaign," Hill explained. "The only criterion is allowing us to post ads on their entire fleet of buses. There's nothing for school districts to invest or outlay."

He added that "everything is paid for," including ad production and delivery.

Timing appears advantageous for School Bus Media. By order of Gov. Jeb Bush, a special committee was organized last fall to study the obesity of the state's school children. It recently issued its report, which encourages schools to provide healthy options for students and to support healthy eating and exercise habits.

A 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that 14.2 percent of the high school students are at risk for becoming overweight, and an additional 10.4 percent are overweight. The 2002 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey found that 16.1 percent of middle school students are at risk for becoming overweight and 11.5 percent of middle school students are overweight.

"We encourage any individual who decides to live a healthy life style, and we are pleased at the educational response to the obesity epidemic in Florida ," said Jackie DiPietrie of the Florida Department of Health.

Hill said School Bus Media's mission is to provide advertising for a healthy lifestyle, including nutrition and exercise. The campaign consists of eight ad spaces on the school bus interior, six paid advertisement spots and two school district public service announcements. The latter's topics can include such program as Black History Month, American Education Week, National Reading Week, Stay in School, and D.A.R.E.

Still there are some not completely sold on the idea. Monroe County School District in Key West was one of the first school districts interesting in school bus advertising. However, Transportation Director Randy Fabal , who took a neutral position, said the school board was not convinced the plan could generate enough revenue, and their were concerns regarding the content of advertising and type of advertisers.

Hill acknowledges that some aren't as quick to accept the media plan, as several state Parent-Teacher organizations think exposing their children to such marketing gimmicks sets a bad precedent.

"Let me ask you a question," Hill tells skeptics. "Your kid comes home from school and watches Nickelodeon for three hours. How many ads does he see until the time you get home? How much money is he earning for his school district?"