Letters: Why would a school district advertise?

I was unaware that school districts were in competition with each other for students.

After I saw the May 19 front-page picture that included a billboard advertising Richland District 1, I contacted the district with three questions. Here’s what I was told: 1. The annual marketing budget is $130,400. 2. The district rents 49 billboards. 3. The cost per billboard varies and can be as much as $10,970, for a total of $104,548.

Is Richland 1 alone? How many other districts are spending tax dollars this way? And what is the total cost statewide? Parents are having to buy supplies for their children’s classrooms, and at least one district is wasting money on billboards. It appears to me that our tax money could be spent more wisely.

This story was originally published July 16, 2017 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Letters: Why would a school district advertise?."