Where do education lottery funds go?

I have been asked many times how I am enjoying myself since retiring as Yadkin County Schools superintendent March 1st of this year. I can honestly say that I am loving it! However, I am not one that retired to sit around the house. I am still working to support our students, educators, and schools, albeit in a different way than I was before.

In April I began working for the Shallow Ford Foundation to raise funds for the Yadkin County Education Foundation fund. This fund supports teacher instruction and student learning. Most recently, more than $21,000 in creative classroom and teaching grants were awarded to several educators right here in our schools. These grants will be used in the coming school year to support innovative, creative instruction and student learning opportunities.

When considering a donation, residents often ask about the North Carolina Education Lottery and where the money goes. Maybe you have the same question. I hope this article will help answer the question.

The North Carolina Education Lottery was created in August, 2005 when the North Carolina State Lottery bill was signed into law. The first lottery tickets were sold in March, 2006. Over the years, the Lottery has been very successful in terms of sales, and it just surpassed the ten billion dollar mark in the past year. Many North Carolinians believe that Lottery proceeds are fully utilized for public education. However, each year lottery proceeds are distributed as follows (these percentages are approximate):

● 51% paid out in prizes

● 38% transferred into the education fund

● 7% paid to the retailers who sold lottery tickets

● 4% to general lottery expenses.

Lottery proceeds for education are divided, based on a percentage formula, at the state level. Funds go to support Pre-K, college scholarships, some transportation, some personnel and school construction. Again, these disbursements come down from the state. Lottery funds are not used to increase the funds that are used to pay teacher salaries or for classroom supplies and materials. Those allotments come from state tax revenue.

How the lottery impacts Yadkin

To learn how the North Carolina Lottery impacts Yadkin County, I advise visiting the webpage at www.nclottery.com. You will select Impact and then Education. Once you scroll down you will see a map of North Carolina. Click on Yadkin and it will show how lottery proceeds have been disbursed to Yadkin County. If you visit the website, you will see that the largest lottery impact for Yadkin is in the area of construction.

In terms of school construction, school districts can receive lottery proceeds through three main mechanisms. These include

a. Direct Disbursement to County Governments

b. Repair and Renovation Funding

c. Needs-Based Grants

Direct Disbursement - each county receives a certain amount of lottery funding annually, and local boards of commissioners determine which projects this funding supports. In 2023-24, $347,182 was allocated to Yadkin County. This funding is being used by the Yadkin County Commissioners to pay down debt service for the construction of middle schools.

Repair and Renovation (R and R) Funding - each school district receives approximately $500,000 annually as part of the state budget process. Each school district decides which project or projects this funding is directed towards. For example, in Yadkin County Schools, R and R funding is often used for roofing projects since they are very costly.

Needs-Based Grants - each year school districts can submit Needs-Based Grants requests. Typically, this funding is used for new school construction, but it can also be used for renovations. Yadkin County Schools has received Needs-Based Grants to help with the costs of auxiliary gyms construction and multiple roofing projects.

It should be noted that even though districts submit the Needs-Based Grants applications, there is no guarantee that they will be funded. The competition for the Needs-Based dollars is fierce, and Yadkin County Schools has had more grant applications denied than have been funded.

Millions of dollars have directly and indirectly flowed to Yadkin County Schools from the North Carolina Education Lottery. However, because this funding is not and cannot be used for instructional supplies and equipment, there is still a great need to support innovation and creativity in our classrooms.

This is where the Yadkin County Education Foundation can help. Contributions to the Education Foundation go directly to support innovative instruction and learning in our classrooms, career education for those at-risk of not graduating from high school, and to support needs that may arise from exceptional accomplishments by students.

To learn more about the Yadkin County Education Foundation, or if you are interested in supporting our students and educators, please visit www.shallowfordfoundation.org. Once there, select Initiatives, then Yadkin County Education Foundation. You can also contact me at todd@shallowfordfoundation.org.