The Newhall School District governing board re-upped on its advertising campaign contract during a Tuesday night meeting.
The new 12-month advertising contract with Mellady Direct Marketing is set to cost $104,661, and district officials say their approval of the contract is based on previous success the district has had with Mellady advertising campaigns.
The advertising campaign includes promotions for the district through a marketing campaign that includes web advertising, video production, movie theater advertising, targeted mailing and local print advertising.
“The marketing campaign meets needs of parents by putting out information about the choices of where they can send their children for education,” said board President Sue Solomon. “It gives them an opportunity to come and visit, see sites, gives them much more information so they can make better informed decisions about where they want to send their children to school.”
As it currently stands, the elementary school districts within the Santa Clarita Valley are open enrollment, meaning that regardless of where a family lives, parents can decide to take their students to any district of their choosing.
“Parents are the consumers and they’re looking for the best place to send their child,” said Solomon. “Additionally, the campaign helps offset our decreasing student enrollment.”
Census Day enrollment number data from the California Department of Education reports that in 2016-17 NSD had 6,706 students enrolled, 6,537 students enrolled in 2017-18, and the district’s recently adopted budget showed a 2018-19 enrollment of 6,539.
“Over five years, the district has probably increased the student body by about 600 students and that’s a conservative estimate,” Solomon said. “It doesn’t fill the gap of the student decline, but it helps.”
