SOUTH PORTLAND — By next fall, players and spectators can expect to see commercial signs at Martin Field and Beal Gymnasium after a divided Board of Education endorsed a plan Monday night to expand advertising for corporate sponsorships.

The board voted 4-3 after a somewhat heated debate over the ethical, aesthetic and budget implications of allowing the athletic department to sell business signs at the field and gym at South Portland High School.

“This is a way of showing our support and I think a lot of people would want to do that,” said board member Libby Reynolds, who voted for the plan with Karen Callaghan, Mary House and Chairman Richard Matthews.

“I just think we’re asking for a huge potential problem,” said board member Richard Carter, who voted against the plan with Tappan Fitzgerald and Sara Goldberg. “I think it’s inappropriate. I think exposing our kids to more (advertising) is not a good idea.”

District policy prohibits commercial advertising in the city’s schools unless it’s approved by the superintendent. Superintendent Ken Kunin said he sought the board’s endorsement because allowing signs at athletic facilities would be a significant policy shift.

At a board workshop in January, Athletic Director Todd Livingston presented the idea of selling corporate sponsorships as a way to generate revenue to support his $738,000 annual budget, which doesn’t include transportation costs.

It’s unclear how much money the signs could raise, Kunin said, but he would budget for as much as $40,000 in potential revenue in the 2016-17 school year to offset coach stipends that were cut this year.

In the future, Kunin said after the meeting, corporate sponsorships and a tandem effort to increase support from individuals could generate $100,000 to $150,000 annually. The signs would be modest and tasteful and the businesses would be suitable for a school environment, he said.

“I do believe that this can be of significant benefit to our programs and services by creating an alternative source of funding that can grow over time from both business and individual sponsorships,” Kunin wrote in a memo to the board. “We do know that a number of other districts have successfully developed this type of a plan where limited commercial exposure in athletics venues supports school programs.”

Public school athletic facilities in Sanford, Biddeford, Lewiston, Augusta, Presque Isle and at Greely in Cumberland display signs and logos advertising corporate sponsorship.

Corporate sponsorship of high school sports programs has increased nationally as public school districts cope with rising costs and budget cuts, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Corporate logos have become more visible on gym scoreboards and stadium signs over the past two decades, while some districts have sold stadium naming rights to corporate partners.

Several city residents spoke in favor of the plan as a way to relieve pressure on booster groups and avoid imposing pay-to-play athletic fees that could limit the accessibility of sports to students who can afford the cost.

“It seems like this is a great solution to a problem that all districts have,” said Debbie Gillies, a sports booster and parent of two athletes.

Bud Ellis, the hockey boosters’ president, said he saw the proposal as an extension of a common practice at Little League fields and other athletic facilities for years and in printed sports programs distributed at high school games.

“Although signs are clearly a more prominent display of that support and fundraising, it is really the logistics (that would change) and not the ethical considerations,” Ellis said in a statement that was read at the meeting.

Greg Lewis, a parent of a soccer player, was the only resident to speak against the proposal. Public schools should be funded by public tax dollars, he said, and the city should dip into cash reserves to cover athletics.

“I think this is an extremely poor idea,” Lewis said. “Not everything has to be done for money.”

This story was updated on Feb. 9, 2016, to clarify Superintendent Ken Kunin’s statements at the board meeting estimating how much revenue might be generated by corporate sponsorships.

 

Copy the Story Link