Finally, Manchester's Board of School Committee has approved a policy to allow advertising on school district property, including inside the schools. The school district must begin pursuing sponsors immediately.

This year's tough school budget would have been at least a little bit easier on everyone had the board approved an advertising policy years ago. For a district struggling to make ends meet in a bad economy, the sooner sponsors can be found, the better.

The board placed sensible restrictions on any advertisements. They may not promote "tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, gambling or weapons" or include "obscene or sexually explicit language" or advance "any religious or political organization and/or message" or candidate for elected office, as our city hall reporter explained on Wednesday.

As we have noted before, children's educational programming on PBS is sponsored by Chuck-E-Cheese's. The Verizon Wireless Arena, where high school graduations take place, is filled with ads. There is nothing inherently wrong with combining education and advertising. If done well, it is a responsible way to fund education without further burdening taxpayers.