Schuylkill County Commissioners are being asked to approve advertisement spending for its Children & Youth program with the local daily newspaper.
But Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora is wondering how many people those ads reach these days.
At Wednesday’s work session meeting, Children & Youth Services Executive Director Carl Rumbel presented a proposed contract with the Republican Herald newspaper for advertising in 2026.
These ads are not legal public notice ads. Rather, they’re promotions from the department for foster parent recruiting.
The proposed contract – which the Commissioners will likely vote on at next week’s regular board meeting – calls for a monthly spend of $1,450 and an annual cap of $17,400.
Rumbel told Commissioners that the rate for advertising with the newspaper did not go up year over year, compared with 2025. He did say that federal grant money which has, in the past, paid for these ads no longer exists. So, the money is coming from local funds.
The ad campaign Children & Youth is seeking to purchase with the funds it’s seeking includes print ads, online ads, targeted emails, and placement in the newspaper’s e-edition.
Rumbel said the email campaign in the past has resulted in “some response” from readers of that news outlet.
“How much circulation does the Pottsville Republican have anymore in the county,” Padora wondered aloud.
The chairman asked Rumbel to get circulation information from the newspaper for next week’s meeting. Rumbel said that the paper does provide a number of “targeted impressions” for the County.
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