School turns to advertising on report cards for revenue

With the economy being in the state that it's been for the past few years, people and businesses have had to get creative when it comes to making ends meet. Schools have also been experiencing financial setbacks as well, including the Jefferson County school district in Colorado which is currently facing $70 million in budget cuts. But the folks at Jefferson County have come up with a plan to make up for at least some of those cuts: advertisements on report cards.

From denver.cbslocal.com:

Some parents in Jefferson County won’t only see their child’s grades on their report cards. They’ll also see advertising.
-
The ad will appear along the bottom of every elementary school report card for the next three years.

Is it wrong to mix capitalism and advertising with our public education system? Some seem to think this is crossing the line. To alleviate concerns, the school district has currently restricted the advertising to a nonprofit organization known as CollegeInvest. But what's to come in the future, will we be seeing Coke and Pepsi ads on report cards further down the line?

One thing that doesn't seem quite right is the discrepancy between the budget cuts the school is facing and the amount of money these ads are going to pull in, which is a puny $30,000 a year. $30,000 a year is less than the average teacher makes, so....great, these ads on the report cards won't even cover 1 teacher's salary and will barely scratch the surface of the $70 million they're facing in budget cuts. Is it really worth all the bitching and moaning? I say if you're going to do this, go all out. Let's get all kinds of advertising up and down the hallways of the school - advertisers can bid on specific spots, some areas going for more due to the amount of foot traffic. And how about those school buses? City buses have long earned revenue by putting ads on the sides and backside, how about schools doing the same?

And it begs an interesting question, are advertisements harmful to kids? Are they really harmful to anyone? We live in a capitalistic society and as much as we look at advertising as something evil, many of the services we take for granted depend on it almost entirely. I say let's give it a shot, just as long as we don't have advertising reps swarming into schools the way we see the pharmaceutical reps in the doctors offices.

Jennifer Petkov Arrested

Breaking News: People Liking People favorite Jennifer Petkov has just been arrested on assault charges.

Jennifer Petkov, the Trenton woman who taunted 7-year-old Kathleen Edward in a feud with the girl's grandmother, was arrested Friday afternoon after being accused of trying to run over another neighborhood resident.

Petkov, 33, was charged in 33rd District Court in Woodhaven with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of reckless driving. The first charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

Apparently a neighbor was walking along the street to visit young Kathleen Edward's grandmother when Petkov floored it and went right after the neighbor with her car. In an interview the neighbor said she had to run to quickly get out of the way, else Petkov would have run her over.

As we mentioned in our earlier post on Jennifer Petkov, we were getting a little concerned here at People Liking People that she was starting to get soft and lose that edge that made her so irresistible. Rest assured she's still got it and is back with a vengeance! We can't wait to see what she does next, but we're hoping that we can help in some way. Jennifer if you're reading this: let's get together and do a photo shoot, we're offering $500. This will be your chance to show the people there's much more to you than just what they read in the papers.

Speedy Rewards: Is it Worth It?

We here at People Liking People have been fairly loyal Speedway customers for several years now. We love the people that work there, and it's right down the street so it makes sense that we'd go there to get our gas. But one thing that was always a major nuisance for us is that we'd get hassled to get a Speedy Rewards card every time we'd make a purchase. Now, the employees were always friendly about it, but God Damnit already I DON'T HAVE A FUCKING SPEEDY REWARDS CARD AND I DON'T WANT ONE.

Well after years of politely rejecting the offer to be a Speedy Rewards member, a very friendly employee finally won me over with charm and made me give in. I always thought that I would have to fill out a form because I saw these Speedy Rewards pamphlets but she assured me that I wouldn't have to do anything; I could just start using it immediately. Well so far so good I guess. Although to be honest, the card seems almost as useless and I thought it would be. I get the fact that over time I will accumulate points which can be applied to some sort of rewards or discounted gas. But I'm trying to decide which is worse: the hassle I get when I don't have a Speedy Rewards card, or the hassle I put myself through when I have to go digging through my wallet to find the stupid card, and then wait for the Speedy Rewards receipt to print out, and then hours later the hassle of pulling out a wad of Speedy Rewards receipts out of my pockets and throwing them in the garbage.

We're going to put in a decent effort in the next few months, but I'm pretty sure this promotion is more hassle than it's worth. One of the printouts advertised an offer to get free gas for a year. All I had to do is go to this website. Well I went there and they want all my information. I'm not sure I want Speedway connecting my purchases of condoms, duct tape, and razor blades to my name and address. The last thing I need is the FBI knocking on our door.

We stumbled on a very amusing post about someone's thoughts and experiences with the Speedy Rewards card. He caught a lot of flack from readers but so far he's spot on.