A Few Years Ago This Would Have Been Considered Out Of Bounds

What a difference a few years (and a bad economy and poor state fiscal management) make:

Fundraising for schools once meant kids hawking cookie dough and gift wrap door to door to pay for field trips and memorial benches, but now districts are looking for big money to keep programs afloat and teachers employed, and to buy books and materials.

Freeman is trying to sign up enough school districts to make advertising in gyms, cafeterias and other spaces at schools attractive to big-name companies such as Apple, Sprint and Adidas.

Education Funding Partners is one of the many new businesses popping up across the country that specialize in helping school districts find or save money...

In California, school boards decide whether advertising is allowed on district campuses. Board policy generally outlines what types of ads are permissible.

San Juan Unified's board decided to allow corporate signage on its middle and high school campuses, but will limit it to common areas away from classrooms and curriculum. The district's administrators will decide which signs and sponsors are appropriate for their schools, (District spokesman) Allen said...

San Juan Unified already displays sponsors' signs on its athletic fields and for years mailed out a newsletter that included coupons and advertisements from businesses who paid for its shipping.

Allen said its new partnership with Education Funding Partners takes these efforts "to the next level," allowing for sponsorships of field trips or equipment in classrooms, among other things.

Critics may say that these new businesses are taking advantage of school districts in their time of need. But Freeman calls himself a social entrepreneur and says Education Funding Partners is a company with a conscience.

"We're doing well by doing good," he said.

The article also mentioned other local school districts, but you can get the gist from what's quoted above.