The Katy ISD Board of Trustees is poised to make changes in its policies to accept additional outside advertising as a means of more additional money for the school district.
At this week’s school board work study session, Assistant Superintendent for Governance, Legal Affairs and Special Programs Bonnie Holland presented the recommended changes to the district’s policies.
“By revising (the current policy), the district can potentially create a new source of revenue,” Holland told the board.
She also said a great deal of study went into the recommendation to make certain the policy would not result in “inappropriate” advertising.
“Quite a number of people have reviewed this and given their input because this is fairly new for us,” Holland said.
The changes, Holland explained, would allow for additional advertising and fundraising options for schools by allowing “flexibility” within district standards.
“Revisions are being recommended (to the existing policy) to establish procedures which would allow the district to pursue alternate sources of income to provide the revenue required to support identified district needs,” school administrators said in their written recommendation. “The proposed language being added (to the existing policy) has been reviewed by the district’s attorney to ensure that while it will allow for a broader range of commercial advertisements, it will not create an open forum for controversial speech.”
The policy change recommendations also provide a process for approval and criteria by which advertisements can be authorized. It gives the superintendent, or his designee, the authority to enter into advertising contracts that meet the district’s standards.
The proposed policy changes also include a host of prohibited advertising, ranging from appeals for funds and alcohol or tobacco products to “announcements of programs which are prejudicial to the public interest, to the interest of the KISD or to legitimate advertising or reputable business in general.”
It also prohibits “slanderous, obscene, sexual, profane, vulgar, repulsive or offensive matter, either in theme or in treatment.”
In addition to Holland, the proposed changes were endorsed by Area 3 Assistant Superintendent Joe Kelley, Chief Operations Officer Tom Gunnell and Superintendent Alton Frailey.
Trustee Chris Crockett praised the effort.
“This is obviously the wave of the future, so I’m glad we’re ahead of the game,” Crockett said.
Trustees agreed to place final approval of the policy changes on the consent agenda for next Monday’s school board meeting.
18. July 2010 at 2:55 pm
Now would be a good time to recoup one million dollars by letting some well heeled business have the naming/advertising rights for the LEM Arena. The arena faces Interstate 10 and would be better than a billboard. I’ve never talked to anyone who thought that selling the naming rights would be a bad idea.
But then I don’t talk to too many people who thought it should have been named for Leonard Edd Merrell in the first place. It was just the Team of 8 that thought so.