Proposal for some ads at schools criticized

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Education Writer

A proposal to allow limited advertising in public schools and libraries got a cold reception yesterday during its first public hearing, but underscored the financial pressures that schools face.

Board of Education members Garrett Toguchi and Randall M.L. Yee floated the idea as a creative option for schools to raise money, but others raised concerns that it would expose impressionable youngsters to marketing manipulation. No vote was taken yesterday, and none is scheduled.

The proposal would allow advertising on school grounds, but not in classrooms or in locations that would be conspicuous to the general public.

"The frame that we're working from is, how to help schools increase funding without going to the Legislature," Toguchi said.

Some Mainland school districts allow advertising on school buses, but it is much more rare on school grounds, he said.

Amy Kimura, mother of two public school graduates, said she was appalled by the proposal.

"I've discovered that people who prepare ads are extremely clever," she said. "They target ... not just your needs but your wants. It's very insidious. I really think schools should be one place where kids should be free of commercialism."

The plan was also opposed by the Outdoor Circle, which for years has led the fight to keep billboard advertising out of Hawai'i. Bob Loy, the group's director of environmental programs, called the school proposal "the result of a collision between an advertising industry that will stop at nothing to reach consumers, and a school system that is so underfunded that it is willing to take desperate action to make a few bucks."

Allowing outdoor school advertising "will open a Pandora's box that can never be closed, and might threaten Hawai'i's billboard laws, which are among the strongest in the nation," Loy said.

Board member Cec Heftel, a former owner of television and radio stations, said the idea "makes no sense."

Toguchi said he did not envision advertisements that directly promote specific products. Rather, sponsors could attach their logos to advertising that promotes school policies and objectives. For example, a health insurer could urge students not to smoke, or a pizza chain could urge them to read more, Toguchi said.

He pointed out that advertising is prominent in magazines that schools and public libraries provide to students. That includes advertisements for cigarettes and liquor, he noted.

Board chairman Breene Harimoto said he worried that a lengthy debate about advertising would distract schools from more pressing issues.

"I'm really fearful we're going to expose schools to too much difficulty with this," he said. "I'm worried they'll see dollar signs popping up, and their time will be consumed with trying to make this work, rather than on student achievement."

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.