Senate Bill 953 passed the Michigan State Senate last October.  A House version passed last week and Governor Rick Snyder will be looking at the bill for signature.

The bill, which will allow for billboards on public school property along state managed roadways became possible from a 2003 Michigan Supreme Court decision that found public school districts are not subject to the local zoning codes of the communities in which they reside, and that school districts have land use authority over school properties.

With schools dealing with budget issues, the potential to add new revenue sources could be an attractive alternative to spending reductions.

The Ann Arbor School District considered, but rejected a billboard company’s offer to install three signs on school properties in 2013.  Whitmore Lake Public Schools in Washtenaw County installed two billboards on school property along U.S.-23 about five years ago. The boards provide approximately $50,000 annually to the school district.

You can read more details at the Detroit Free Press.

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