Last night, with over 15 area photographers in attendance, the Ellwood City Area School Board announced they removed the proposed plan of using one company for all of the school’s photos from the meeting’s agenda.
“As you can see, there are a lot of personal photographers that would hurt from this and could potentially put them out of business,” board member Bob Stevenson said.
On Monday, the school board proposed the idea of using Clark’s Studio of New Castle as the sole photography company for the district – they would have the exclusive rights of taking all school photos including athletic program photos. The school district wouldn’t need to pay Clark’s Studio, as they would generate income from selling the photos and photo packages to parents – this was another benefit for the district.
Yet, after feeling a pressure from local photographers who currently take a number of photos for the schools, specifically individual and team athletic photos, the school board decided to not go with a single company.
“It will be beneficial to stay the way it is,” school board president Anthony Buzzelli said.
Buzzelli went on to explain that a “media day” will most likely be incorporated now, in which all the photographers can be present for photos of the sports teams, individuals, etc.
Clark’s Studio will maintain the role as photographer for class pictures in the yearbook as that’s the way it’s always been done, according to Superintendent Frank Aloi.
“Clark’s will continue to do the yearbook, but parents have the right to purchase from whoever they want,” Aloi said. “It’s the way we’ve always done it.”
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