Comments on: Students To Be Exploited For Revenue?

By: Karen F. Ragland

Karen F. Ragland — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:35:10 +0000

I was not going to weigh in on this but….. Now our student transportation can look like hippie vans of old. I only wonder when the adult shops choose to advertise on the buses; get told they cannot and then sue for their first amendment right to do so. I am sure we all will wait in breathless anticipation for that. Start saving now.

By: dog

dog — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 03:03:17 +0000

I hear Merck wants to put Viagra adds on a Boise school bus. Yay free markets, yay capitalism! Oh, and just wait for the Money Tree bus and the Tea Party Obamascare bus for Halloween!

By: Grumpy ole guy

Grumpy ole guy — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:47:01 +0000

While I don’t see anything inherently wrong with this idea, it does seem to me that there ought to be some sort of restrictions – is this advertising to be inside or outside the bus? Shouldn’t there be some sort of “rule” about what % of the yellow must be visible to ensure safety, where do free speech and topic(s) of said advertising intersect – political campaign ads for School Board elections? Cigarette and alcoholic beverages? I think with appropriate regulation it might help a little, but really, it is just another excuse not to fund education at a level it should be funded.

By: Cyclops

Cyclops — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:25:49 +0000

Paul, the only helmets back then were leather and used in football.(I know, because I had one) I agree that we are coddling kids today, but this is a different time. We didn’t have to worry about some scumbag grabbing one of us either coming or going.
I am having a tough time being negative on this issue. It seems as though being forced to cut spending, we also are not willing to explore ALL alternatives. The legislature,(that’s you Sen. Bock)wants to have cake and eat it without sharing. By the way, does anyone really believe that we are going to “can” over 700 teachers? Attrition will take care of that! Back in the day of the leather helmets, EVERY class had over 30 students. The teachers need to be stressing that we need to “head hunt” at the administrative level instead of the class room. We must consolidate school districts! That would be the biggest saving we could realize at this time.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:30:12 +0000

Back in the day 50’s/60’s we had to get to school the best way we could if we lived less than two miles from school. I ended up riding a bicycle as my parents could not afford the $0.40/day bus fare. It was uphill in the morning but what a ride going home.. i could actually stay up with the cars on my bike without a helmet.

On days I did get to ride the bus (rain), the bus stop was several blocks from our home.

Today we give kids a door to door ride for the most part. How all the busing of kids got so far out of hand is a mystery to me. Now we have discovered a new way to deliver a marketing message to the kids riding buses.

By: ola

ola — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:25:17 +0000

Once again the Luddites crawl out from under their rock to come up with reasons not to try something that has probably been done both successfully and controversially in hundreds of other locations around the country. Ohhhhh, what about the children?

By: Wade

Wade — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:38:38 +0000

I think it’s a great idea and I fully support it.

By: Zippo

Zippo — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:37:24 +0000

What percentage of kids ride the bus anyway? I’ve heard they should have a cop on each bus to deal with our societal advancements.

By: Zippo

Zippo — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:18:27 +0000

You are worried about school buses? How about the computer they will get spammed on 24/7. I’d love to see who gets that special contract and for how much.

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:20:06 +0000

I think that some of the concerns about the bill are a bit overblown:
-Districts will most likely send out RFPs for the ad business and choose the company that will generate the most revenue for the district.
-The ads will have to be child appropriate, and the rules will define what appropriate is.
-Districts will route buses to maximize efficiency because not doing so would cost them any of the new revenue they might receive from ad revenue.
There are a number of other states that allow advertising on buses, and they have not experienced the concerns expressed here. Like the idea of ads on buses or not, this is a way to raise revenue without increasing taxes.