Naperville School District 203 officials are in the preliminary stages of implementing a video board sponsorship program at North and Central high schools.
The proposal, unveiled at a board of education meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, has been touted as a revenue-generating opportunity for the district at a time of fiscal constraints. It is also being pitched as an opportunity to give students hands-on learning opportunities.
How the sponsorship program would work
While introducing the proposal at the recent board meeting, Superintendent Dan Bridges pointed out a similar initiative was introduced last year, though it ultimately was put on hold.
“We took some feedback and suggestions from the board of education and kind of incorporated it into an updated and revised recommendation,” Bridges said in outlining the chronology of events that led to the plan in motion.
Naperville 203’s two high school athletic directors were on hand to discuss the proposal: Jon Pereiro from North and Jeff Plackett from Central.
Plackett said a confluence of factors makes this an ideal time to consider the new video board proposal.
“With the existing video boards at both Naperville Central and Naperville North, and the proposed installation of a new board at Naperville North’s main gym, we believe we have an opportunity to create the Naperville 203 digital network,” Plackett said.
Pereiro said there would be safeguards in place, including the creation of a joint commission that would handle many of the logistics around the program.
There would also be parameters in place around the types of advertisements that could be shown on video screens. Political messages and advocacy campaigns are among the list of prohibitions, based on the proposal.
“All ads are strictly digital,” Pereiro said. “No permanent signage or naming rights are being sold. Every ad goes through a mandatory 4-step vetting process that ends with district administration approval.”
Pereiro also touched on the hands-on learning opportunities available to students through the program.
“Marketing students would manage client requirements, graphic design students would produce the actual ad content, and digital media students would run the boards on game day,” Pereiro said. “Our hope is to tie this to our internship program and pathway programs, giving students an in-house option toward diploma endorsements, while doing real work for local Naperville businesses.”
Revenue earning opportunity for district
Allison Boutet, assistant superintendent for leadership – secondary level, has been overseeing some of the proposed program’s components.
She said the refreshed initiative “aligns with our district budget reduction measure to maximize revenue and resources.”
Based on the details outlined within the program, a four-tiered sponsorship structure would be created, with costs tied to how an ad would be shown, and the placement of the number of venues.
Sponsorship tiers, based on the proposal, would range from $1,000 to $12,500 and bring in projected annual gross revenue of $165,000.
Pereiro said every dollar raised through the network would be split equally between the two high schools’ booster clubs.
“These funds are intended for large-cost items that benefit students across multiple programs for years, not a single season,” Pereiro said.
Board members laud program and opportunities for students
The recent discussion was preliminary and was intended to serve as a primer for upcoming board action at the Tuesday, Sept. 22, meeting. Several board members said they were supportive of the plans shared.
“I’m really happy with the multi-layered vetting process that the advertisements have to go through,” board member Joseph Kozminski said. “This is a really well thought out proposal, I think. I really like this idea of providing students with these real world skills and opportunities.”
Board member Kristine Gericke shared similar sentiments, stating, “I am very appreciative of the entire proposal. To me, it’s just a definition of collaboration. I love the students being involved, I love the revenue sharing. I can’t find a problem with this proposal.”
Board President Charles Cush also expressed support, pointing to the dual problem-solving and opportunity aspects of the plan.
“This is going to contribute some revenue to help us from a budgetary standpoint, but at the same time, it also creates learning opportunities,” Cush said. “Finding that intersectionality between learning opportunities, as well as solving some of the problems and challenges that we’re facing is a wonderful thing.”
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