PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh school district is spending $200,000 on a TV marketing deal that includes lead sponsorship of a holiday parade.
Critics question the decision to sponsor Saturday’s WPXI holiday parade when the district faces a deficit next year. The three-year, $206,000 contract with WPXI-TV includes just over $50,000 a year to sponsor the parade.
“They’re selling buildings. They’ve had layoffs. Usually spending money on advertising is not something you think of a school district doing when it’s complaining about not having enough money,” said Jake Haulk, president of the fiscally-conservative Allegheny Institute for Public Policy.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (https://goo.gl/iASYE4) reported that the money comes from a $40 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation designed to empower teachers.
Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said the event helps promote the district’s achievements and boost morale.
“This is about making people feel good about where they work and where they attend school. And we think it will impact the teaching and learning environment,” Pugh said.
Parade participants include students from the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School and school board members riding on a float.
“I think it’s a lot better because of the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ involvement. They are talented kids,” said WPXI program director Mark Barash, who said other school districts are also taking part.
The parade had previously been sponsored by Kaufmann’s department store, which merged with Macy’s in 2006. Macy’s then sponsored the event until this year. Barash declined to disclose the cost of producing the parade, but said it would have gone on even without a new sponsor.
The Pittsburgh district’s enrollment has fallen to 25,500 students from 34,000 a decade ago.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, https://pghtrib.com
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