Orange County Public Schools in Florida, the nation’s 10th-largest school district, said it will buy only USA-made outdoor U.S. flags after it was found to be buying flags made in China, the Orlando Sentinel reported on October 2, 2014.
What the district changed
- The district’s central warehouse had sent 167 Chinese-made U.S. flags to schools over the previous two years. It bought them from Standard Stationery Supply Company of Wheeling, Illinois.
- School officials said the USA-made flags cost about $16 each, compared with about $10.50 for the Chinese-made flags.
- The change followed an inquiry from Doug Guetzloe, founder of the group Ax the Tax. “Public tax dollars should be spent on American products whenever possible, leading with all flag purchases,” he said.
Florida law at the time required public schools and colleges to display the U.S. flag every day and required classroom flags to be made in the USA. That requirement did not cover outdoor flags, but the district made the switch anyway. “We don’t want the lowest-priced one anymore,” district spokeswoman Ana O’Loane said.
In 2015, Florida passed a law requiring flags bought by public agencies to be made in the USA (our coverage).
Source & credit
Source: Orlando Sentinel: “Orange schools will switch to American-made flags”, by Lauren Roth, October 2, 2014.