When this teacher was told he’d have to cover his printing costs for the year, he didn’t reach for his wallet — he grabbed the local yellow pages.

To reduce expenses, California’s Poway Unified School District decided to trim supplies and materials instead of personnel. That meant instead of the usual allotment for printing quizzes, tests and other documents, teachers would be forced to make do with only $300 per year.

Calculus teacher Tom Farber crunched the numbers and found his quizzes and exams would cost more than $500 per semester, not including handouts students would need to print and download on their own.

That’s when he decided to open up advertising space on his handouts — $10 for an ad on a quiz, $20 to be included on a chapter test and $30 for a coveted spot on the semester final.

So far, Farber hasn’t received sponsorships from any store chains or major retailers, but says he prefers the ads from local businesses and mom-and-pop stores. Also helping his cause is parents who have paid for the ad space and filled it with motivational quotes.

Since starting the campaign, Farber’s sold $350 in ads, which is enough to make up what the school budget doesn’t pay for. Extra money he brings in will go to the school’s math department for other teachers to use.

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Tags: Ad space, Advertising, Major retailers, Mom-and-pop, Printing costs