Lottery funds small, increasingly critical part of budget

Lottery funds for education have not helped schools in Tehama County avoid financial stress.

Proposition 37, passed in 1984, established the state Lottery Act, requiring at least 34 percent of lottery revenues to go to public education.

Since the 1999-2000 fiscal year, 50 percent of any increase in lottery revenues also must go to school districts and community colleges.

But, with many primary and secondary schools, community colleges and universities facing drastic budget cuts, lottery revenues barely make a dent.

Lottery revenues for Colusa County schools fall in line with other's in the region, according Superintendent Kay Spurgeon. Generally about 1.2-1.8 percent.

"The money is basically used to offset the cost of operations," she said. In the county office, most of it is allotted in 'mini-grants' for special instructional needs in one-time expenditures," she said.

Though it is not much, "things would be worse with it, regardless of what the use it," Spurgeon said.

Judith Rossi, superintendent at Williams Unified School District, agreed.

"It's very important to us, because it's one of the few funding sources without strings attached," she said. "We get a lot of money that has strings attached, as if we don't know how to do spend it."

"One of the best things is, because it demonstrates the belief that people in local districts do know how to spend money and don't need guidance" from the state.

In her district, lottery money "goes directly to each school and they weave that into their individual plan for student achievement," Rossi said. It also "provides the core amount for athletics in grades 7 to 12."

In the Colusa Unified School District, about one-fourth of lottery funding goes to the school sites and is mostly used for supplies, according to Business Manager Sheryl Bailey. The rest of the money goes into the general fund.

"It makes a difference," she said. "But is a grand savior to our budget? No. And, it never has been." Still, $200,000 covers three teachers' salaries, added. "So, it would be a big impact to lose that much."

Pierce Joint Unified School District gets about 2 percent of their revenues from lottery funds, Business Manager Daena Meras said. "It is mainly used for instructional materials and supplies at the site levels."

She also said, "it's very important, especially in these budget times. It's extremely important, every dollar we receive."

Lottery funds only contribute about 1 percent of the state's overall education budget, according to Stel Cordano at the Department of Education.

In the 2008-09 budget year, $1.04 billion in lottery money was added to the California education fund, she said.

That year, $126 per student average daily attendance was distributed to school districts and county offices of education, Cordano said.

California Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso predicts the amount will be closer to $1.5 billion for 2009-10, because "it's the first year in the past four that lottery sales have gone up."

In the first three quarters of '09-10, the last period for which data are available, $835 million in lottery revenues went to public education.

Final figures for the fiscal year will be available in September, Traverso said.

Since the lottery began, the cumulative distribution has amounted to 80.54 percent of the total; community colleges got 13.31 percent; California State University system, 3.74 percent; and University of California, 2.2 percent; the rest has gone to other educational entities such as adult education and charter schools, according to the California Lottery website.

In 2008-09, K-12 schools received about $837,600, Department of Education reports show.

Statewide figures can be difficult to comprehend, especially in small, rural counties like Colusa, Glenn and Tehama, where the K-12 population is relatively small.

Combined, the three counties took in about $2.7 million in lottery funds in '08-09. Tehama County received $1.4 million, with Corning schools getting $365,330; Glenn County got $784,500; and Colusa County took in $550,505.

By state law, lottery funds are split into nonrestricted and restricted categories.

In 2000, voters passed Proposition 20 that requires, when lottery revenues allotted for education reach $817 million, a portion of the money must be spent on state adopted instructional materials — textbooks, library books, laboratory equipment and software, for example.

In 2008-09, that broke down to $16 in Prop 20 funds per ADA and $110 in nonrestricted funds per ADA, Cordano said.

Unrestricted funds still have some restrictions, however. The money cannot be spent on facilities or maintenance, for example.

Colusa County Office of Education Superintendent Kay Spurgeon said, the county office uses lottery funds "for special projects we can't fund any other way." But, in the districts the money "is basically used to offset the cost of operations."

"With reductions from all state sources, every dollar they get from Lottery helps manage their districts."

Although lottery funds make up a small portion revenues, "things would be worse without them, regardless of what the use is," Spurgeon said.

LOTTERY REVENUES

Colusa Unified
School District
2008-09
Unrestricted: $147,130
Restricted: $18,413
Total: $165,543

2009-10, quarters 1-3  
Unrestricted: $132,575
Restricted: $1,391
Total: $133,966

Maxwell Unified School District
2008-09
Unrestricted: $46,465
Restricted: $5,806
Total: $52,461

2009-10, quarters 1-3  
Unrestricted: $37,045
Restricted: $0
Total: $37,045

Pierce Joint Unified School District
2008-09
Unrestricted: $147,094
Restricted: $18,433
Total: $165,527

2009-10, quarters 1-3  
Unrestricted: $119,650
Restricted: $561
Total: $120,211

Williams Unified School District
2008-09
Unrestricted: $122,529
Restricted: $15,253
Total: $137,782

2009-10, quarters 1-3  
Unrestricted: $117,918
Restricted: $1,438
Total: $119,356

All Colusa County
2008-09
Unrestricted: $489,339
Restricted: $16,166
Total: $550,505

2009-10, quarters 1-3  
Unrestricted: $427,458
Restricted: $3,467
Total: $430,925