Billboard revenue proposed to school board

WAUPACA – At a recent Waupaca School Board meeting, a proposal for a digital billboard on Highway 22 was brought to the board members to consider in the future.
Bob Jewell, from Ad-ucation Media Group, presented information on possibly putting a billboard up on Highway 22 near the baseball fields.
Ad-ucation Media Group, according to their website, is a company that assists in raising money for school districts through advertising mediums, namely billboards.
Jewell said the digital or static billboard would be built and installed at the company’s expense and the revenue would then be shared with the district.
Jewell said they are starting to lean into digital billboards and would be willing to install one on Highway 22 if the school district and zoning will allow.

Jewell said he currently works with near 40 school districts and has been in the business for almost 25 years.
With the digital billboard, advertisements would rotate and the school district would have say in what can and can’t be displayed.
Jewell said the revenue sharing is generally between 15 to 20 percent back to the schools which is paid out twice a year.
“We find that communities are a little bit more open to want to help schools and they have an opportunity now … to work with local businesses because a lot of [businesses] can’t afford to be on a major interstate,” Jewell said.
The goal would be aimed at least ten advertisers that would be charged by the week, Jewell said.
The billboard would be two sided, so it would be able to advertise in both directions.
The zoning aspect of the school would first need to be addressed with the addition of a long-term off premises variance, Jewell said.
The contract would be for 20 to 30 years, and written into that contract the expense to remove the sign would be at the company’s expense.
Ad-ucation Media Group would be in charge of the sign, they would insure it and take care of maintenance, while the school would be in charge of approving the advertisements and the electricity.
The Waupaca School District would also be able to advertise school events to passing cars as well.
There was no action taken at the meeting regarding the billboard, as it was only an informational introduction to the possibility of a digital billboard.