Move over Pepsi-Cola. The choice of a new generation of CharlesCounty students will be Coca-Cola, thanks to a 10-year, million-dollar contract the school system has signed with the company despitethe objections of some local educators.
For years, schools in the Southern Maryland county have had eitherPepsi or Coca-Cola machines, and scoreboards in school gymnasiumshave been decorated with sodamakers' logos.
But last month--in the most sweeping contract of its kind in theregion--Charles County School Superintendent James E. Richmond sealeda deal that would give the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola company exclusivevending rights in exchange for about $175,000 each year for 10 years.Richmond said money generated from the deal would go towardeliminating fees charged to students who play high school sports.
"The machines have been there for years. Kids are bombarded withthem all the time," he said. "All we did was try to give money backto the parents and kids."
But some within the school system did not buy into the idea,arguing that it exploits a captive audience of impressionablechildren and promotes unhealthy nutritional habits.
"I will not sell our students' minds and health to the highestbidder," said board member Margaret Young in a letter addressed tothe superintendent and the school board chairman.
The debate is one engaging school officials throughout the region.Advertising is not new to schools, but the aggressive approach andlucrative contracts offered by many corporations are.
And more schools--strapped for cash to pay for the costs that comewith higher enrollments and higher teachers' salaries--are jumping onboard.
"Schools aren't supposed to be a profitmaking organ, but they surehave a lot of bills to pay," said Neil Greenberger, media specialistfor the Maryland Department of Education.
Most school districts in Virginia and Maryland allow individualschools to enter into contracts with vendors, but few have systemwidedeals. The District has a contract with a vending company, which inturn has an arrangement with the Coca-Cola Co. Athletic clubs, inparticular, have been more willing to seek corporate sponsors to helppay for equipment.
Supporters see it as a way to cut down on the wrapping paper andcandy sale fundraisers that irk many parents. Indeed, commercialismin schools has become an unavoidable topic. And it's not limited tosoft drink companies. Many schools have what they call "corporatesponsors," local businesses that donate money, computers or food,often simply in exchange for exposure.
Moreover, the Internet has given school districts the opportunityto link their Web sites to commercial sites.
"It's a new century, and we probably can't keep our heads in thesand too much longer, especially when we need so many resources,"said Patti Caplan, spokeswoman for Howard County schools. Only ahandful of Howard's high schools have contracts with vendors.
The Fairfax County School Board recently broached the subject aswell. The system has no exclusive contracts with any companies but isreconsidering its policies.
"We have been really tight about commercialism in schools," saidPaul Regnier, spokesman for Fairfax public schools. "We don't wantkids to be exposed to commercial appeals. . . . Once you have onecommercial operation in [the schools], you can get more and more.Where do you draw the line?"
School districts nationwide have decided simply to draw the lineat the beginning. The San Francisco Board of Education, for example,approved a policy last year that prohibits districtwide, exclusivecontracts with soda or snack food companies.
In an ideal world, Charles County, would go that far, Young said.
"Is it really in the public's best interest to use taxpayer-funded facilities to enhance corporate gain?" she said.
At a board meeting Tuesday, Young proposed a resolution toprohibit advertising and commercialism in the county's publicschools, but she failed to garner the support of a majority of theboard.
Heath Morrison, principal of Charles County's Thomas Stone HighSchool, said he welcomes the Coca-Cola machines that have beeninstalled recently, replacing the Pepsi-Cola machines that used todominate the school.
"It's not like we're having them walk around the school with 'ILove Coke' buttons," Morrison said. "It's not like we're trying tobrainwash them."
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