OCEAN TOWNSHIP – School buses in Ocean Township will not only be carrying students this fall but they will also be promoting local businesses as well. The district has approved a program to place commercial advertising on its school buses.
School Board President Sean Moore said the move to put advertising on the buses is to help generate additional sources of revenue for the school district.
“I think that in this financial environment we are looking at everything,” he said.
School Business Administrator Kenneth Jannarone said the district will accept advertising to be posted on the school buses in September.
The district has about 50 buses and vans but it is unclear how many will have advertising.
“We’ll see how it goes and the amount of money we raise will depend on the amount of interest from businesses. We do expect a slow start but expect it to pick up after a few years,” he said.
School officials will mail out information, including pricing, about the advertising campaign at the end of this month.
A sign company will create the vinyl signs that will be attached to the side of the buses with magnets.
Jannarone points out that the signs will not be huge and that they cannot block or cover any safety or code information on the bus
“They will be vinyl signs down near the wheel wells and won’t be covering the whole bus,” he said.
He said that advertising is another way to raise revenue for the school district.
“Every dollar we raise is a dollar less the taxpayer has to pay,” he said.
And advertising on school buses may be the wave of the future.
“I think some other districts have already done the same thing and I think a lot of other districts will be coming online and doing the same thing in a few years. It will become a lot more common,” Jannarone said.
Anyone interested in advertising on the school buses can telephone Jannarone at 732-531-5600, ext. 3100 or e-mail him at KJannarone@ocean.k12.nj.us
