newjerseynewsroom.com

BY PAM LOBLEY

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NOW THAT'S FUNNY

A bill is being considered in Trenton to allow school districts to sell ads on the sides of their school buses. This would help districts raise money at a time when they really need the revenue.

This idea has been considered before and went nowhere, but that was before Governor Christie slashed aid to the schools by $812 million. Loss of that kind of funding gets you thinking very creatively.

The bill was sponsored by Republican Assembly members Scott Rudder and Dawn Marie Addiego, and has support from Democrats, too. Assemblywoman Connie Wagner noted that other states with this program can raise as much as $1,000 per bus. Currently, about 6 other states, including Colorado, Arizona, Florida and Texas have the law. The New Jersey bill requires boards of education to use half the revenue to defray fuel costs for student busing. The other half could go toward school programs or services.

Opponents of this idea usually say that kids are exposed to enough ads, and that buses and schools should be havens from advertising. They object to the commercialization of school.

Too late for that, my friends! Everything kids come into contact with is wildly commercialized and keeping ads off of buses is not going to change that.

For instance, does your child enjoy a good book, like Harry Potter, and one of The 39 Clues? Reading is so wholesome, and non-commercial, right? Except that those books are money-making franchises, with movies, action figures, and cereal box tie-ins.

My kids do homework on the computer, with all kinds of ads and pop ups coming at them. They dress so that they are walking billboards for Nike, the NBA, Marshall Amps, the Yankees, and Fender Guitars. And they've been known to ask me, in all serious, why we don't switch to Bounty, because it has been proven to be better at picking up spills than the other leading brand.

I don't like that kids have been turned into little consumers by the aggressive, "stuff makes you happy" culture that we live in. But it is a fact. As parents, it is up to us to repeatedly and vigorously counteract that influence with examples, activities, and strongly voiced opinions. I do this, but it is exhausting, and there are many times I want to just say "Fine — drink all the soda you want, buy those sneakers ... and don't forget to fry your brain with a few more reruns of 'Gossip Girl!'"

But what is also exhausting is paying the viciously high property taxes we pay. Ditto for constantly working at or attending PTO fundraisers, diligently attending Board of Education meetings and working each year to get the vote out so that the budget passes, and paying fees so that my kids can participate in after school activities. At some point, the well runs dry.

Maybe we can persuade organic farmers in New Jersey to take out an ad — that way we'd be promoting good values and earning revenue! More likely, they'll be ads for junk food, TV shows and jeans that make your daughter look way too grown up and sexy. But your kids are going to see thousands of ads a year. What's a few more? Especially if it means a debate club, girls volleyball, and more teachers.

Maybe one of them can teach a course in advertising.