Yard Signs Allowed at So. Lehigh Football Games

A divided Southern Lehigh School Board voted Monday night to allow the placement of yard signs near the end zones at Southern Lehigh High School football games. 

The yard signs bear the Spartans logo and the names of local individuals, families and businesses who've sponsored them as part of a fundraiser for the Southern Lehigh Football Booster Club, president Troy Silfies told the board.

Several board members expressed concern about the fact that the signs will in effect be advertising local businesses on school property, which they said could be a violation of a school district policy.

However, board vice president Corinne Gunkle said, "it’s very clear that our advertising policy is completely confusing."

Another board member, Dr. Thomas McLoughlin, said he was concerned about who controls the money raised by the booster club.

If the booster club has the final say about how the money that is raised with the signs is used, that is "a big deal to me," he said.

It was subsequently explained that while the money raised does not become part of the district athletic director's operating budget, she does have to approve how it is spent.

"This is in support of the student-athletes," Silfies emphasized.

He added that some of the money raised will help fund things like a preseason football team trip planned for 2015.

Booster club treasurer Louanne Cantor told the board that other Southern Lehigh students also benefit from the money raised by the booster club, which has funded additional equipment for a school weight room, for example.

"We do a lot of stuff that is not ... just for the football players," she said. "We buy things so the school doesn’t have to."

McLoughlin agreed to support a motion to approve the use of the signs with the stipulation that the approval be granted for the 2013 football season only.

Board members also agreed that the district's policy on advertising is poorly worded and needs to be reviewed as soon as possible.

Gunkle and board member Dorothy Mohr voted against the motion to allow the 2-by-3-foot yard signs to be put up this season, with Mohr stating that she felt "ill-prepared" to vote on something that wasn't on the agenda and without the opportunity to review the current policy in detail.