According to the N.C. Education Lottery Web site, 100 percent of the net proceeds of the North Carolina Education Lottery will go to education expenses, including reduced class size in early grades, academic pre-kindergarten programs, school construction, and scholarships for needy college and university students.
DigTriad states the purpose of the N.C. Education Lottery is to “generate funds to further the goal of providing enhanced educational opportunities.”
Katrina Wade, a junior, has been receiving the N.C. Education Lottery scholarship since fall 2007. Although Wade says she does not know how she was selected for the scholarship, she considers herself “fortunate to have received the award. “It is less money to pay out of pocket for school,” she said.
“I am a supporter of the education lottery because I see the benefits firsthand,” Wade said. “Because of this [scholarship] I can complete my college education and not have as much financial burden.”
Alice Garland, representative from the Education Lottery explains the distribution of the proceeds by the Act.
“In order to receive a lottery scholarship, the student must qualify for a Pell Grant. It is a need-based scholarship, so anyone can qualify,” Garland said.
Garland also stated that “The lottery pays for additional teachers, in order to create smaller class sizes for counties that experience high growth.”
Pam Leman, an analyst of public administration in the Office of State Budget, recommends that people can use the Department of Public Instruction Web site to see the breakdown of funding. The lottery funding page shows the estimated quarterly lottery distribution for the past two years. According to the site, the estimated amount distributed to Forsyth County for 2008 was $5,722,003. For more information click the link below:[Alliance for Education (pdf)]
The breakdown of funds is distributed in accordance with the Lottery Act. According to the N.C. Education Lottery, the Office of State Budget and Management distribute the proceeds as follows: 35 percent to education, 50 percent to prizes, 8 percent for administrative costs, and 7 percent for retailers. Of the 35 percent of proceeds allocated to education, 50 percent is used to reduce class size ratios; 40 percent is used to build more schools; 10 percent is to fund college scholarships for students; and 5 percent is set aside in case the lottery falls short of its target in the future.
According to Garland, the lottery only spends 4.5 percent, of the allotted 8 percent, for administration costs. “This [administration costs] is everything it takes to run a lottery, including staff, the building, advertising and the gaming system that controls the terminals,” Garland said.
According to the Alliance for Education, an adjustment in the 2007 Governor’s Budget took out the requirement that 35 percent had to go to schools.
According to DigTriad, the legislature’s Fiscal Research Division found the lottery only gave 32.6 percent towards education this year. Had the counties received the full amount, Alamance would get another $335,000, Forsyth county would see an additional $928,000 and Guilford County would get another $1.5 million.
The primary reason the lottery was established was to benefit education.
The N.C. State Lottery Act was passed in August 2005 by Governor Mike Easley. The 2005 Appropriations Act which enacted the North Carolina Education Lottery was also signed that month.
[NC Public Schools – Financial & Business Services][DigTriad Article – Lottery][Alliance for Education (pdf)]