$117K Down the Drain: Walker County Schools Paid $2500 Per Minute for Ads
Leadership wasted $117,585 on promo ads, more than any teacher's annual salary. This could have hired two full-time teachers or funded basic classroom supplies teachers usually have to buy themselves
With a potential increase in property taxes on the horizon, let’s rip off the band-aid quickly. Since January 2023, Walker County School District has been pouring money into video production company to create promotional ads. Ostensibly as part of a public relations effort. The spending kicked off with seven months of itemized invoices for a few thousand here and there which provided some detail into the activities. But by August 2023, the district put the company on a $7,000 monthly retainer with no detail as to what was being paid for or actually produced. Fast forward to June 2024, and the district has paid out a staggering $117,585. To put it in perspective, this amount is more than any teacher in the county makes in a year. A teacher starting out in the county makes a little over $45,000. After reviewing the videos, their runtimes, and number of views across multiple social media, it appears the district essentially spent about $2,500 tax dollars per minute or $11 per view for these videos.
To discover the reasoning behind the public relations effort I asked for briefing documents, marketing strategy plans, or communication objectives behind the ads. The district provided nothing but a single page strategic plan for 2025-2030—a document that has no relevance to promotional videos from 2023 and 2024. Naturally, there were no measures of success or achievement of goals outlined either.
The invoices and financial documents are linked below.
If you’re already feeling a mix of shock and anger, brace yourself.
While researching this for this article, I discovered one particular clip that wasn’t listed among those provided in an open records request—a promotional video for the company itself, not for the district. Give it a watch below.
In this video, Superintendent Raines and other system administrators extol the virtues of working with the company. One line boldly claims, "we're in the market of educating kids and we do a really good job. The thing that we don't do a good job at is marketing and telling our story of how we're meeting the needs of our kids on a daily basis and ensuring they're ready."
A really good job.
Let’s take a hard look at reality: the percentage of students in third through eighth grades reading below grade level. Reality is starkly different picture.
The refusal of district leadership and certain school board members to acknowledge this data is nothing short of astounding. It’s as if they’re living in an alternate reality, where repeating a lie often enough makes it true. This approach is infuriating for the many employees, parents, and community members who recognize problems honestly and seek to address them. The current leadership is committed to secrecy, deception, and propaganda, creating an illusion of success for their personal aggrandizement.
To better describe the problem, imagine a child who always gets trophies for participation, never having to face the reality of competition or failure. They live in a bubble, constantly shielded from the real world. Walker County’s leadership operates in a similar bubble, believing that their propaganda —what they show and promote ( or omit and hide)— can sustain them. It has thus far. But when this illusion evaporates, perhaps they’ll face reality and finally be of value to the community they’re supposed to serve.
None of this is to argue against public relations or marketing for schools. On the contrary, effective public relations should be a two-way street, fostering mutual understanding and cooperation between the school and the community. Schools, like any public institution, must explain their objectives, achievements, and needs honestly, and learn from the community to improve services. Transparency and honesty are essential. Schools should engage the community openly, sharing financial reports, test scores, and policy discussions to foster a effective community relations and good governance.
But let’s return to the original issue: the district’s reckless spending on these promotional videos. The district leadership’s decision to invest over $117,000 in promotional ads, with no clear strategy or measurable objectives, is a gross mismanagement of resources. This money could have been better spent addressing the real issues within the schools—like improving reading levels, providing basic classroom resources for teachers which are most often paid out of pocket by teachers themselves or parents, or even hiring two additional teachers.
The promo video from above closes with a surprising cameo—one that may be in violation of state law and state board of education rules for school board members. Outgoing Walker County Board of Education member Dale Wilson appears on screen to provide a final endorsement of the company which produced the ads.
It is wildly unethical for a school board member to use their official title to endorse a commercial product or service on behalf of the board without any consultation or vote from the entire board. However, this latest ethical lapse by Wilson pales in comparison to the chronic actions and persistent ignorance displayed by him and his two comrades on the board Mike Carruth and Karen Harden, who have consistently shielded Superintendent Raines from scrutiny and accountability—much to the detriment of the students. For their sake, the arrival of January 2025 can't come too soon.
Despite being censured in a powerful speech by the chairwoman of their own party and a stated rebuke by the board chair on the record, the trio surely supports the decision to waste resources on self-promotional content, designed to mask their faults and create a facade of success.
If there is any lingering doubt whether this public relations campaign was a mere vanity project funded by taxpayers, look no further than the fact that the ads, which lacked any clear goals or substance, have gone largely unnoticed, with some receiving fewer than 100-200 views. Had this been a genuine public relations initiative aimed at achieving specific goals or addressing communication issues, it would have included paid and targeted advertising to ensure the message reached its intended audience. That clearly wasn’t the case here.
Serious Questions
Is this acceptable to the teachers who struggle with limited resources? Is this acceptable to the parents who want the best education for their children? Is this acceptable to the taxpayers who fund the school district?
The community must demand better. Walker County deserves leaders who are honest, transparent, accountable, and genuinely committed to improving educational outcomes. It’s time for the district leadership to step out of their bubble, face the reality of their shortcomings, and take meaningful action to address them or to step aside or be removed.
This debacle is yet another glaring indictment of their priorities and capabilities. The community must not stand idly by while resources are squandered on empty propaganda. It’s time to hold the leadership accountable, demand transparency, and insist on honest leaders who will work to benefit the students and the community. The illusion of success must be shattered, and only then can Walker County Schools truly move forward and thrive.
