In five years, Richland 1’s advertising spending has increased 5,500 percent

Since Craig Witherspoon took over at Richland 1, the school district’s advertising and marketing spending has increased more than 5,500 percent, records show.

Before Witherspoon was named superintendent in February 2015, Richland 1 spent $5,176 on advertising and marketing, according to documents from Richland 1. In Witherspoon’s first year as superintendent, Richland 1’s advertising spending increased to nearly $57,000, records show.

Advertising and marketing spending has increased every year since, reaching $290,619 in 2018-2019, the most recent year for which information is available. That’s 55 times the amount Richland 1 spent the year before Witherspoon was named superintendent. While other local school districts spend money on advertising, Richland 1 now spends far more than school districts of its size, records show.

For the current school year, Richland 1 has budgeted $275,000 for advertising and marketing,Richland 1 spokeswoman Karen York said in an emailed statement.

The two, main goals of Richland 1’s advertising and marketing campaign are to boost student enrollment and to help recruit teachers, York said.

“One of the primary goals of our advertising and marketing activities is to increase student enrollment in Richland One schools by increasing awareness of our academic programs, unique learning experiences and other competitive advantages that the district offers its students,” York said.

Board member Jonathan Milling said he was concerned about the “significant expenditures” the district was racking up on advertising spending.

“I don’t see a need for advertisements when we could do other things like hire teachers, improve test scores and reduce class sizes,” Milling said. Milling won a New Year’s Eve special election in a landslide after running on a platform of transparency and fiscal accountability, according to previous articles from The State.

In 2013, the school board approved a strategic plan to increase the advertising budget, Board Chair Jamie Devine said in an email. One of the key reasons for this, he said, was because taxpayers and constituents were not aware of what was going on at Richland 1.

“The way people receive and digest information has changed,” Devine said. “Today, when people receive their communication through a variety of different platforms — mail, TV, newspapers, social media, etc. — we have to employ different ways to keep people informed. That requires an investment.”

Since Witherspoon took over — and Richland 1 ramped up advertising — the number of students district-wide has decreased from 24,556 to 23,663 while the number of teachers has increased from 1,929 to 1,943, according to S.C. Department of Education records.

As has been widely reported, South Carolina continues to face a shortage of school teachers. Board member Lila Anna Sauls said the increasing advertising budget is a necessary response to the forces of supply and demand.

“It’s a highly competitive environment for teacher recruitment with the national and state shortages, so I support giving our Human Resources team the tools necessary to get the word out about recruitment fairs, etc. to help replace the teachers, bus drivers, and other R1 employees that are retiring or leaving the district for other reasons,” Sauls said in an email.

Board member Beatrice King said she has never seen any data justifying why Richland 1 should increase its advertising spending.

“If (the goal) is to attract students, it’s not working,” said King, who is a frequent critic of district spending.

Richland 1 spends its advertising budget on ads in newspapers, magazines, television commercials, radio, online and billboards, York said. The ads for Richland 1’s Hall of Fame Gala are donated by WIS and Lamar/Grace, which leases billboard space.

Last week, The State reported that the district has used tax dollars in recent years to help pay for the annual gala.

Richland 1 tracks the success of its advertising program through attendance at employee recruitment events, student enrollment in certain academic programs (such as the magnet programs), website traffic and social media traffic, York said.

For example, the number of applications to Richland 1’s Montessori programs increased 55% from this time last year and the number of applications to Richland 1 Career and Leadership Magnets have increased 117%, York said.

The reason 2018-2019 advertising expenses were higher than other years was because the district was promoting its new choice programs including Montessori, York said.

Until recently, Richland 1 spent less on advertisements than its sister district, Richland 2, according to records from both school districts.

For example, in fiscal year 2014 Richland 2 spent $28,784 on advertising, data show. In that same year, Richland 1 spent $8,652, records show.

By fiscal year 2019, Richland 2 spent $16,083 on advertising, while in 2018-2019 Richland 1 spent $290,619, more than 18 times the amount Richland 2 spent.

Lexington-Richland 5 spent $1,916 on advertising in 2018-2019 and has spent $600 so far in 2020, district spokeswoman Katrina Goggins said in an email.

Advertising and marketing costs listed in this article do not include spending on initiatives like Principal for a Day, Richland 1 Showcase of Schools, magnet programs brochures, etc. Those numbers were excluded because the district used those some years, but not others, preventing an apples-to-apples comparison. The State has published those numbers, and a part of the district’s response to questions, here:

Richland 1 annual advertising budget

2009-2010: $3,025

2010-2011: $2,000

2011-2012: $6,310

2012-2013: $9,768

2013-2014: $8,652

2014-2015: $5,176

2015-2016: $56,684

2016-2017: $97,052

2017-2018: $193,659

2018-2019: $290,619

2019-2020: $275,000 (budgeted)

This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 12:00 AM.