Schools could get ads if council approves bill

A Philadelphia City Council Committee has approved a bill to allow advertising on SOME school district properties. 

 

 

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown says even though the ads would be seen by impressionable young minds, they don’t exactly live in an ad-free vacuum.

 

“For sure there are varying views on the thorny issue of children and advertising, however the record needs to reflect that already young people are exposed to advertising during their commutes back and forth to school, listening to radio, watching television and of course, the Internet.”

 

The bill prohibits ads for alcohol and tobacco.

 

Fran Burns, the School District’s Chief Operating Officer says if the bill is approved, the district will be careful where any ads are placed.

 

“Since the majority of school district properties have been financed with tax-exempt bonds, the district has been careful with entering into for profit arrangements where more than 10 percent of the use becomes for-profit use to avoid losing our tax-exempt status and facing IRS penalties.”

 

Councilwoman Reynolds Brown says New York City raised six million dollars by putting advertising on school buses.