Soft-drink sales in Lawrence public schools are such big business the school board will be asked to taste-test contract proposals that could provide a $150,000 windfall to the district, the superintendent said Friday.

Supt. Randy Weseman said competition by Pepsi and Coke to keep their brands in high school and junior high buildings was so fierce and the contract dollar amounts floated recently so huge that time had come for the school board to get involved.

The Lawrence school district is considering contract proposals with soft-drink companies that could provide a welcome budget windfall. Dominic Nunez 16, enjoyed his soda Friday at Free State High School, 4700 Overland Drive.

“We have to get a handle on it,” Weseman said. “I think it’s something that needs to be debated.”

Preliminary discussions that soft-drink companies have had with individual principals indicate it might be possible for the district to land multiyear deals offering the following:

One-time payments of $50,000 to $60,000 to Lawrence High School and Free State High School for rights to sell soda in the buildings. The four junior high schools, each with half the enrollment of a high school, would get one-time payouts of $10,000.

As much as 40 percent of all machine revenue.

Annual stipends of $1,500 to $2,000 per school.

The district currently bans sale of soft drinks to children in elementary schools. Junior high students can buy sodas out of machines after school or during special events. At the high schools, machines are available to students throughout the day.

Seeking middle ground

In the past, school principals were encouraged by district administrators to strike their own deals with soft-drink companies. Terms of those contracts vary, Weseman said. Annual revenue figures for the schools weren’t available.

Scott Morgan, school board president, said he welcomed a review of soft-drink marketing in schools.

“It’s entirely appropriate that we look at it and figure out a districtwide policy,” he said.

Weseman said the school board would be asked in late September or early October to consider whether it was in the best interests of students to offer soft drinks for sale in schools.

If so, he said, what sort of access is appropriate? The possibility of a single soft-drink deal for the entire district is another issue for discussion, Weseman said.

“We understand soft drinks are part of our culture,” he said. “We need to find the middle ground.”

A healthy discussion

Beyond financial implications to a cash-strapped school district, the board also will have to contend with research that shows soft-drink consumption is a growing health issue for American teenagers.

Studies indicate soda contributes to obesity in boys and might contribute to weak bones in girls. In addition to tooth decay problems, the impact of caffeine in many brands of soda also has raised eyebrows.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles school board voted to ban soft-drink sales during school hours at its 677 schools. The board pointed to health risks of soft drinks.

“It’s hard to turn down any money, but (consider) the hypocrisy of us teaching people to eat healthy and then push soft drinks,” Morgan said.

A complicating factor in California, as well as in Lawrence schools, was that any action that limited sales of soft drinks would undermine a steady supply of money school officials use for field trips and extracurricular activities.

“The schools have come to depend on the sale of soda pop,” Weseman said.

In Lawrence, profits from soft-drink sales have been used to buy everything from planner books for students to scoreboards on football fields.

Students speak

In the same way soft-drink companies strive for brand loyalty, some students at Free State and LHS wouldn’t welcome changes in the availability of sodas at school.

“If it was taken out, I’d be pretty mad about it,” said Daniel Little, an LHS senior and Pepsi fan. “A lot of kids depend on their soda.”

Free State student William Hanney, who drinks three or four sodas daily, said he would miss the caffeine if sodas were taken off school shelves.

“(It) helps me study, keeps me awake,” he said.

Other students understand there are contradictions between a health teacher lecturing about caffeine abuse and a school principal permitting soft-drink machines in the cafeteria.

“They say we’re not supposed to have drinks in class, but they have pop machines available the whole day,” said Mike Jessup, a Free State student.

LHS senior Zeke Altenbernd said he wouldn’t miss soft-drink machines if the board expelled them from Lawrence public schools.

“I quit drinking soda at the beginning of the summer for health reasons,” he said.