Pepsi nixes school fund-raiser

Statesman Journal ^ | November 3, 2002 | TRACY LOEW

[Damocles]

West Salem cheerleader Andrea Boyes holds water bottles she designed to sell as a school fund-raiser. Pepsi, which has an exclusive contract with the school district, nixed the plan.

A West Salem cheerleader

[Damocles]

For some reason this just irked me. Where does Pepsi get offf limiting fund raising events simply because they compete with their products. Pepsi is there at the invitation of the school, it seems bad business to pi$$ them off.

[Noslrac]

Its called a contract. You sign'em and you abide by them or you get sued.

[riley1992]

Wouldn't she have had to run this idea past the school first? If so, they are negligent for not stopping it before it started.

[mewzilla]

This is what school districts get when they do a deal with the devil...

[SouthernFreebird]

They made a deal with Pepsi, they should not disregard a major business deal because a cheerleader wants to compete with them. At her age she should know what a contract means and abide by it, not whine and try to get others to help her worm around it.

[Damocles]

I understand the concept of a contract, but sometimes you can be right and cause all kinds of fallout in the process.

I just think Pepsi is being extremely short sighted on this issue. It's call public relations.

[southern rock]

Its called a contract. You sign'em and you abide by them or you get sued.

Andrea Boyes had a contract with Pepsi? Did she sign anything?

[Noslrac]

She can feel free to sell the stuff off of school property as the contract says right?

[SouthernFreebird]

Andrea does not own the school grounds, therefor she must abide by the rules/contracts laid out.

[Issaquahking]

Pepsi is there because they have sharp people doing their business. I have only had a couple of dealings with local Pepsi companies and they are sharp. They also know how to package fun and promote if you work with them.

[southern rock]

Andrea does not own the school grounds,

Oh yes she does. All taxpayers in the district do. It is a PUBLIC school.

therefor she must abide by the rules/contracts laid out.

She signed NO contract and a public school cannot prohibit free enterprise on their grounds.

If the school district signed a contract, than the school itself has to abide by it, NOT the students who signed nothing.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Her school district signed the contract with Pepsi. The school district gave Pepsi exclusive rights to sell their merchandise (Pepsi products) on school ground, cafeterias, vending machines. In exchange the school district (obviously) receives some percentage of revenues generated (be it monetary, or in the form of sporting equipment, computers, etc.). However enterprising the cheerleader may have been to come up with bottled water sale, somebody (her parents, the cheerleaders' sponsor) dropped the ball by not checking on whether or not such a sale (the Titan water) was allowable. Pepsi, IMO, is just between that rock and hard place in this situation...the district should take control of the situation and honor their end of the contract.

[riley1992]

The revenue is going straight back into a school program, though. Therein lies the problem.

[southern rock]

The revenue is going straight back into a school program, though. Therein lies the problem.

So the school has no other sources of revenue besides Pepsi? Doubtful.

Anyway, I find the entire concept of bottled water idiotic. I forget his name, but there is a comedian who has a whole routine about how bottled water is simply the result of a couple of Frenchmen sitting around betting on how stupid the Americans are.

"Oh Jacques, I agree the Americans are stu-pid, but even they will not PAY for water."

Oh Jean, just you wait and see."

[SouthernFreebird]

Oh yes she does. All taxpayers in the district do. It is a PUBLIC school.

Right, I'd like to see her or anyone else in that district bring a gun on those grounds....then try telling the judge they own that property, see how far that non-sence will get you.

Your making excuses for bad business, this girl needs to learn how it works in the real world.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

She signed NO contract and a public school cannot prohibit free enterprise on their grounds.

Oh yes they can. Using your logic, anybody should be able to slap together some sandwiches, lug of few gallons of milk, and set up shop in the cafeteria to give the kids a choice a lunch time. Why aren't the Golden Arches in school cafeterias coast to coast? Why can't any book vendor show up and sell their wares to individual students (don't like the school's chemistry book...mine is easier). Why aren't schools just a free for all of free enterprise? Because districts sign contracts for everything from books, to crayons, to sporting equipment, to food service. The school district (or its assignee) signs a contract (after accepting bids) to use specific products for a specific period of time (the course of the contract). That is what happened with Pepsi and this school district. The district was shopping for a vendor (Pepsi) to give them the best rate (compensation) for a specific product. Pepsi was awarded the exclusive contract.

[riley1992]

So the school has no other sources of revenue besides Pepsi? Doubtful.

I'm certain they do but none that are direct competitors of Pepsi-Cola. Personally, I think the board is at fault here for ever letting this progress. However, the cheerleaders now have plenty of water to use for their next car wash fundraiser.

[southern rock]

Right, I'd like to see her or anyone else in that district bring a gun on those grounds.

They should be totally free to. It is public property.

[SouthernFreebird]

So the school has no other sources of revenue besides Pepsi?

Pretty skirts mess you up don't they.

[is_is]

At her age she should know what a contract means and abide by it, not whine and try to get others to help her worm around it.

I don't see where the girl is whinning.....she was quoted as saying something to the effect that "we'll just have to have more car washes".....