High School Board to Review Concessions, Sponsorships Policies

The Watchung Hills Regional High School Board of Education will blow the dust off a 2007 corporate sponsorship policy to see if the policy will provide guidance towards a new policy on concessions.

The existing policy sets provisions for the board to accept sponsorships but does not address concessions, such as allowing a single vendor to provide refreshments or, in the case of the pressbox, to have naming rights.

The topic came under discussion at the May 9 meeting as the board voted to approve moving $42,999 in surplus transportation funds to an account for construction of the pressbox. The board is accepting bids for the pressbox, with the cost expected to tally about $86,000.

In addition to collecting donations from local recreation sports and booster groups totaling about $35,000, the board is considering setting rules to solicit a concession for the naming rights.

Under state law, each such agreement will require separate legal review and board approval, according to the board's attorney, Marc Zitomer, of Schenk, Price, Smith and King.

But the big question is how to determine the value of something they haven't done before.

"It's not in the market—we have no idea what it's worth," board member Paul Seelig said at the meeting.

The board has a $36,000 minimum bid on the concession, and Zitomer said the board can advertise the concession to see if more offers are received.

"It couldn't hurt to try and get the best value for the school—the law says if you think the value is higher than the threshold bid, you should really go out for bid," Zitomer said. "But it's hard sometimes to know what the amoutn should be."

The topic is timely since the legislature recently passed legislation allowing advertising on school buses, and regulations concering the ads are being written. Board member Gerry Binder suggested the school board review any proposed bus rules to see if they are applicable to the school concessions or provide any guidance on how the board should proceed.