Creative Budget Solutions

Maine is not the only state going through lean budget times.  Across the country states are agonizing over what programs to cut and save in order to come to terms with revenue shortfalls.  The education budget took a big hit, leaving districts scrambling to make ends meet.  A lot of folks want to raise taxes in some capacity.  That certainly is one way the state to mitigate education funding loss.  Cutting programs, increasing class sizes (ie. firing teachers), and mandatory pay freezes are a few of the other ideas being tossed around.  Times like these often spur great innovative solutions.  I’m not sure if I would call this plan from Washington state one of those, but it’s still worth discussing.  

While Staten Island argued over outfitting their classrooms with bake sale money, Washington legislators had another idea.  Let’s sell advertising on our school buses.  Much like any city bus, Washington’s public school buses will sell ad space outside and in.  Though the senate report(pdf warning) on the bill acknowledges that “advertising to children on school buses is questionable”, local school boards would have the ultimate say as to what appears on their buses.

Is it time for Maine to consider such an idea?  Legislators have estimated the income from these ads would bring in roughly $175,000.  Alone, it almost doesn’t even seem worth the hassle.  I expect some would be on board with a similar proposal in Maine.  It almost goes without saying that many, including the MEA, would go to DEFCON 4 upon even the mention of such a budget solution.

Feel free to debate slapping Hannaford ads on the side of public school buses.  I didn’t bring up the Washington bill because I thought it would be a budget cure-all.  We are in difficult times, however.  Throwing money at our problems wont solve them.  We don’t have that luxury.   You want our children to be able to compete with China and India?  Let’s set an example.  We need creative solutions to this crisis.  There are seeds out there, ideas that can fundamentally change the way we education students.  Time to live up to our state motto.