Bill To Allow Ads on School Buses Passes Senate Committee

A bill that would allow school districts like River Edge to sell advertisements on the sides of school buses passed the state Senate Education Committee Monday.

The purpose of the bill is to provide an additional source of revenue for school districts in the wake of deep budget cuts. Advertising on school buses is currently illegal.

Under the language of the bill, school districts wouldn't be allowed to sell ads for tobacco, alchohol or anything else deemed inappropriate by the state Commissioner of Education. All the ads would be approved by the local board of education.

The revenue would be divided. Half would go toward district transportation costs, and the other half would be left up to the descretion of the school board.

Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen) a former guidance counselor at , is one of the primary sponsors of the bill. She said she conceived of the bill as a way to help cash-strapped school districts make money.

"This is a bill that's trying to make it a little bit easier to provide the educational services that we need," she said.

Paramus schools superintendent James  Montesano testified in favor of the bill earlier this year, when it was in front of the Assembly Education Committee.

Neither the or School districts own any buses. The bill wouldn't apply to vendor-contracted buses.

The River Edge School District recently purchased a bus before the beginning of the school year. According to Board Administrator Debbie Trainor, the possibility of allowing ads on the bus will be brought up before the Board of Education at a future meeting.

A similar law is in effect in a few other states, Wagner said, and they've seen positive returns after implementing it. Wagner said she expects each school bus to earn between $500 and $1,500 a year.

The bill was introduced at the beginning of this year. It passed the Assembly by a unanimous vote in September.

The state Senate has to pass the bill before it lands on Gov. Chris Christie's desk. Wagner said she hopes the Senate will hear the bill before the end of year, so districts can consider implementing it for next year's budget.

She warned that school districts would need it.

"If you thought this year's budget was difficult, next year's budget is going to be even more difficult," she said.