JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Nearby 4 billion dollars was spent on the Florida Lottery last year. It's money lawmakers promised would go to education. But the fact is, that's not what's happened. According to information from the Department of Education and Duval County Public Schools, Action News has learned that Duval County schools received less than three dollars per student.
The lottery was approved by voters back in 1986. The major selling point for the bill was that the gambling dollars would go right into our classrooms, but the fact is, that's not entirely true.
"Voters were sold on it as being an enhancement for education, and that's not what it turned out to be? " Paige asked Duval County Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals.
Pratt-Dannals:"Absolutely, it has not."
Superintendent Pratt-Dannals, who has worked in the Duval County School District since the 1970's, remembers when the lottery money started rolling in. At one point Duval County received more than $32 million dollars in discretionary money from the lottery. That's money the county could use where it was needed the most.
But fast forward to last year, when the district, which has 125,000 students, received $370,404 dollars in discretionary money. That breaks down to just $2.96 cents per student.
Action News traveled to Tallahassee to speak with Governor Rick Scott. Paige asked the Governor about how lottery dollars are used. I asked him, "Would you support pushing lawmakers into putting more lottery money into K-12?
Governor Scott has proposed a Billion dollar increase in education this year, and he wants lawmakers to help boost lottery sales to help pay for it.
We asked if that was the best use of Florida's lottery dollars. According to the Governor, "The Florida Lottery money should go to education and it does go to education."
But parents and lawmakers may disagree on what "education" really means. By law, the first lottery money payout goes to Bright Futures, a merit based scholarship program that wasn't around when the lottery was first passed. In the 2010-2011 fiscal year, that meant 26 percent of $1.2 billion in lottery money.
Community Colleges and Universities took 28 percent and two percent went to "other financial aid." That left 44 percent for K-12. That sounds like a lot, but most of that money was earmarked for very specific programs such as the class size amendment, capitol projects, and recognition programs. The means the actual spending money that counties get is a fraction of what it used to be.
In Duval County, even with the Governor’s proposed budget increase, the district is looking at another $50 million dollar shortfall this year.
We asked Superintendent Pratt-Dannals if lawmakers are making the right decisions about where lottery money goes. "No," he answered, "I think it should go where it was originally intended, that is discretionary funding for school districts."
Trey Csar, with the non-profit Jacksonville Public Education Fund, agrees. "The politicians we elect have to decide what takes priority in terms of learning resources. K-12 is where it begins and it's up to elected officials to make that call."
State Senator John Thrasher voted for the Florida Lottery, even though he doesn't play. He too, believed the money would be used to enhance our classrooms. "We'd all like to increase discretional money, but I think it starts with having enough money in general revenue."
Over the years, lawmakers have funneled lottery money into programs that weren't around when the lottery was passed. Now, the only way to get counties more discretionary money is to take it from somewhere else. Senator Thrasher says, "Can we provide more flexible money in these tough economic times, to use where they have more discretion, absolutely I would be in favor of that and we are working on that."
Several lawmakers, along with local school leaders, have discussed temporarily suspending the School Recognition Program. It awards money to the state's top performing schools. Last year it meant $4.3 million dollars for Duval County. By temporarily suspending the program, counties could use the money where it's needed the most. But Governor Rick Scott told Action News that he would not support that move, saying top performing schools should be rewarded and their success be used as an example for struggling schools.
