Why Is It STILL Called the Education Lottery?
Gary West
Greenwood School District 50
February 28, 2004
WEB
EXCLUSIVE: At the end of this article, see additional notes resulting from questions and comments from other readers.
Last year, I detailed the
facts that K-12 public schools in South Carolina were not benefiting as much from the South Carolina Education Lottery as the
general public believed at that time1. Many school districts were
being asked what they were planning to do with the windfall dollars that they were to receive from the lottery. The folks who raised that question were surprised to see the numbers from the lottery website2 –
showing that only 3.8% of lottery revenues were going to K‑12 public schools while 7% of those revenues were going to
gas stations and convenience stores for selling the tickets.
Now, almost fourteen months
later, it’s time to re-assess the impact of the “education lottery” on K-12 education.
Before looking specifically
at the lottery dollars, let’s look at what has happened to K-12 public schools in other areas over the last three years
(the lottery is now in its third year):
- SC K-12 public schools have had budget reductions in excess of $372 million3
since the end of the 2000-2001 school year,
- SC K-12 public schools must meet new achievement requirements under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act4
of 2001,
- SC K-12 public schools continue to work toward requirements of the Education Accountability Act5
(EAA) of 1998,
- SC K-12 public schools’ state per pupil expenditure has decreased from $2002
to $1777 (-11.2%)6.
During that same period,
the SC Education Lottery has had total revenues of $1.8 billion (with a “b”).
By the end of June 2004, South Carolina’s K-12 public schools will have received approximately $73.3 million –
about 4.1% of the total lottery revenues – that’s four cents out of every lottery dollar. (See Table 1 for the source information for these numbers and the
numbers in the following paragraphs, unless otherwise footnoted).
So – since July 2001,
K-12 public schools have lost $372 million in state revenues and gained $73.3 million in
lottery money – for a net loss of almost $300 million.
During that same time, South Carolina’s gas stations and convenience stores will have received approximately $126.2 million – or 7% of the total
lottery revenues. During that same time, USC, Clemson, and MUSC will have received
more than $60 million dollars to hire additional professors, the state’s four-year colleges will have gotten more than
$105 million in tuitions from students (while raising their tuitions to historic levels), and the two-year technical colleges
will have gotten more than $77 million in tuition assistance from students.
By its own calculation7,
the lottery website indicates that the Education Lottery Account (the account set up for the lottery money that goes to education)
has received 29% of the total lottery revenues since January 2002.
Quoting from a widely circulated
lottery brochure8, legislators, lottery representatives, and the Governor’s office, contend that K-12 public
schools are getting as much as 34% of lottery money designated for education in 2003-2004. The brochure lists under “Lottery Funded K-12 Programs” such non-instructional
items as (1) new school buses (which should actually be paid for from the state’s
regular budget instead of the lottery money9), (2) teacher training grants (money that
goes to colleges so teachers can take college courses), and (3) the administrative costs of implementing the requirements
of the EAA (money for use in “impaired” districts and other “extra” programs required by EAA and which
should come from the EAA legislation instead of the lottery legislation10).
K-12 public schools are getting
just $40 million from the lottery in 2003-2004 (that’s 14% of the amount placed in the Education Lottery Account –
not 34%). And even that money is restricted by the Legislature for specific programs in
grades K through 5. There are no lottery funds at all for grades 6 through 12
or for regular programs in grades K through 5.
In reality,
since January 2002, South Carolina’s K-12 public schools are getting only 4.1% of all lottery
revenues – or, about 14% of the lottery money designated for “education.”
Table 1 uses data currently found on the lottery website11 to detail the appropriations made for each lottery
year so far.
|
TABLE 1: SC Education Lottery 2002-200412 |
Distribution of Lottery Dollars |
Pct of Revenue |
Pct of Ed. Account |
|
2002 |
2003 |
200413 |
Totals |
|
Total Revenues |
$337,149,060 |
$726,912,112 |
$743,944,367 |
$1,808,005,539 |
100.0% |
|
|
Appropriations: Operations |
Operations |
$25,630,203 |
$41,753,831 |
$44,636,662 |
$112,020,696 |
6.2% |
Not
Ed. |
|
Prizes |
$200,310,497 |
$414,683,229 |
$431,487,733 |
$1,046,481,459 |
57.9% |
Not
Ed. |
|
Gas Stations/Conv. Stores/Retailers |
$23,486,957 |
$50,700,663 |
$52,076,106 |
$126,263,726 |
7.0% |
Not Ed. |
|
Education Account Deposits |
$87,721,403 |
$219,774,389 |
$215,003,683 |
$522,499,475 |
28.9% |
100.0% |
|
Appropriations: Higher Education,
Libraries, SCETV, School Buses, and the Education Accountability Act |
Unappropriated Revenues14 |
$7,721,403 |
$47,774,389 |
$0 |
$55,495,792 |
3.1% |
10.6% |
|
LIFE, HOPE, Palmetto Scholarships |
$3,000,000 |
$50,800,000 |
$51,500,000 |
$105,300,000 |
5.8% |
20.2% |
|
State Tuition Grants/Assistance |
$3,000,000 |
$34,000,000 |
$40,000,000 |
$77,000,000 |
4.3% |
14.7% |
|
National Guard Scholarships |
$0 |
$1,500,000 |
$1,500,000 |
$3,000,000 |
0.2% |
0.6% |
|
Endowed Chairs at USC, MUSC, CU |
$0 |
$30,200,000 |
$30,000,000 |
$60,200,000 |
3.3% |
11.5% |
|
Teacher Grant Program |
$2,000,000 |
$0 |
$2,000,000 |
$4,000,000 |
0.2% |
0.8% |
|
College Technology |
$10,600,000 |
$11,100,000 |
$12,000,000 |
$33,700,000 |
1.9% |
6.4% |
|
SCSU Technology Grant |
$1,000,000 |
$2,000,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$6,000,000 |
0.3% |
1.1% |
|
Ed Accountability Act Administration15 |
$23,500,000 |
$0 |
$22,503,683 |
$46,003,683 |
2.5% |
8.8% |
|
New School Buses16 |
$15,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
$8,000,000 |
$31,000,000 |
1.7% |
5.9% |
|
SCETV Digitization Project |
$18,500,000 |
$0 |
$0 |
$18,500,000 |
1.0% |
3.5% |
|
Aid to Local Libraries |
$0 |
$1,500,000 |
$1,500,000 |
$3,000,000 |
0.2% |
0.6% |
|
Black Colleges/Excell. Enhance. |
$3,000,000 |
$0 |
$3,000,000 |
$6,000,000 |
0.3% |
1.1% |
|
Appropriations: Regular K-12 Instruction |
| |
