School District Sells Ad Space to Raise Funds

A cash-strapped school district has sold out, selling ad space on everything from gymnasiums to school buses.

El Paso County’s School District 11 is the nation’s first to come up with such a plan, using the ad revenue to buy books, lab equipment and other supplies the city cannot provide.

“Go for your dreams! Stay in school!--Reilly Buick-GMC Truck” reads an ad inside Palmer High School’s gym. Dozens of other signs are plastered on school hallways, including ads from Pepsi and Shoney’s restaurant.

Students at Fremont Elementary School travel in bright yellow buses painted with the round red spots that sell 7-Up. Burger King ads, designed with the help of students, are painted on other district buses.

Jay Engeln, Palmer’s principal, and a handful of school administrators came up with the idea while plotting ways to raise badly needed funds. The district’s 1994-95 fiscal budget of $133 million isn’t enough to cover all costs.

The ads first went up in January in all the district’s 53 schools. About 50 businesses have bought space.

“We found that one of the things we do have is exposure,” Engeln said. “We thought: ‘We can start marketing our schools.’ ”

Teacher salaries have been frozen for three years, and voters have not approved a bond issue or tax increase for the district since 1972. The city was strapped by tight budgets and offered little financial help.

The campaign permits ad space on walls, newsletters, district reports, maps, stadium walls and buses. Businesses can also buy space on warm-up jackets for sports teams but not on their uniforms. So far, no space has been sold for the jackets.

Tracy Cooper, district public relations officer, said advertising has raised about $100,000. The district’s share is $59,000. The ad agency handling the school’s account, O’Donnell & Riley, gets the rest.

The campaign is expected to raise an additional $200,000 next year, which would meet the district’s goal of $300,000, said Pat Riley, a partner in the agency.

Engeln said only 10% of wall space in schools will be used for ads.