TEXANS - What happened to all the $$$$$

[3timesoccermom]

As I read about more budget cuts to the school systems here I suddenly remembered that before the lottery was passed in Texas one of the major selling points was that the money, or at least a portion of it, would be used for education. What happened?

Does anyone else remember that?

[loaslaen]

As I read about more budget cuts to the school systems here I suddenly remembered that before the lottery was passed in Texas one of the major selling points was that the money, or at least a portion of it, would be used for education. What happened?

Does anyone else remember that?

I don't know how TX does it, but SC also has an "Education Lottery". It breaks down to 28.7% of gross proceeds going to "Education" Of that amount, 73% goes to "Higher Education" and 25% goes to "K-12 Programs". I believe the number for 2008-2009 was $501 million to K-12.

I haven't read anything about the Texas school budget problems but just googled and found this bit of info:

Texas lawmakers are expected to cut $10 billion in school funding to balance an estimated $27 billion budget shortfall, forcing districts across the state to draft budget reduction strategies.

Don't know the TX lottery numbers, but compared to SC's $501 million, I doubt that would make much difference when there's a $27 BILLION shortfall.

[loaslaen]

Ok, found the breakdown for TX. 27% of proceeds go to Foundation School Fund (FSF). I believe all funds are distributed through the FSP (Foundation School Program). That breakdown is:

65% FSP Operations
4.6% FSP Facilities
21.8% Other Programs
6.5% Child Nutrition Program
1% Textbooks
.7% Technology Allotment
.4% Agency Administration

The FSP is the principal vehicle for distributing state aid to school districts. It comprises three tiers of funding mechanisms designed to allocate funding to school districts for operations and facilities in an equitable manner. The FSP represents the largest appropriation item for the Texas Education Agency.

Does 65% really need to be spent just to figure out how to distribute the funds? Cause that's what it sounds like the FSP is for.

[cmbearden]

same thing here in missouri, we have casinos and lottery to help fund the public education system, it's still broke even with all the infusion of gambling money. somebody at the top isn't diverting the money to the schools correctly or the districts aren't budgeting correctly...they constantly want to raise our real estate taxes to fund education in the state.....

[enginerd]

I used to work for a governmental agency that collected fines. To make the fines not such a bitter pill to swallow, it was well publicized that the money from the fines went to the school districts. I was true alright but what they didn't tell you was that an equal amount was subtracted from general revenue for the schools so there was a net gain of ZERO. I suspect it is the same for lottery money.

[3timesoccermom]

It's absolutely disgusting the way things are misrepresented. I just can't believe the money they expect to take from the schools' budgets. They do NOT have it!!

[motherofmolly]

illinois has a lottery. and a portion is supose to go to schools. needless to say the schools are broke here, they just closed a high school locally and are talking of closing 3 or more primary schools. and this is not because there are no students...they have no money.

[biscottilover]

I read an article in the sunday paper after the Texas lottery. It was disgusting. I remember it said that lower income neighborhoods buy the most lotto tickets (which, was kinda a been-there-done-that DUH type of factoid), but it said alot of about how it didn't raise as much money as originally hoped and how sales had gone downhill.

[biscottilover]

Texas Lottery: A different game than state was sold two decades ago

Here it is

In 1994, 70 percent of adult Texans reported buying tickets. Today, it's closer to 40 percent, meaning the lottery must extract more dollars from fewer people to keep raising the same amount of money. In 2004, the state's estimated 9 million lottery players each spent an average of $390. Last year, an estimated 7.4 million players averaged $500 each.

The state has become increasingly dependent on instant scratch-off games, which today generate 75 cents of every lottery dollar. Yet such games are more likely to be played by "less educated and lower income" residents, according to the Texas Lottery Commission's research. The latest analysis found that "unemployed (players) were more likely to purchase scratch off tickets than employed and retired" players.

Because the state's take is smaller on instant tickets, it must sell more to make the same profit. Last year, the lottery sold nearly $700 million more in tickets than in 1998 — and gave schools $160 million less.

As a percentage of education spending, the lottery's contribution is shrinking. In 1996, lottery proceeds paid for about two weeks of schooling for Texas students. This year, the money raised by the lottery will barely cover three days.

[sns4063]

But really soccermom, schools can reign in their spending-the schools in this area have been funding lots of "wants" over "needs" for quite a while with bonds. No school NEEDS a new football stadium, pool or many of the other things they've been spending millions of dollars on. Maybe they can wait 5 years vs 3 to replace computers, keep books another year longer, etc. There also doesn't need to be 19 different school districts in the San Antonio area alone. Think of all the redundancy in highly paid central office staff!