email from VEA Teacher's union on Lottery spending for education

[Gopher Broke]

I am asked about the Virginia Lottery money at virtually every public meeting I attend. The public perception is that education should be in no trouble because we are showered with lottery funds. Check out this news story on TV3 in Hampton Roads:

http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-va-lotto-school-budget,0,6190448.story

To put the lottery proceeds for education on perspective, State General Fund Aid to Education in FY 2012 will be $4.9 billion. The lottery proceeds for education in that year will be $435.2 million.

This money is not “bonus money” for our schools. It is used to fund ongoing programs, so the lottery is, in effect, just another tax to fund essential programs. If we did not have a lottery, these programs would need to be funded from the General Fund and a new revenue source would be needed.

Here is how the Lottery proceeds are being used in FY 2011:

Lottery Proceeds Programs FY 2011

Foster Care $12,896,417

At-Risk $63,801,568

Virginia Preschool Initiative $67,607,769

Early Reading Intervention $14,720,585

Mentor Teacher $1,000,000

K-3 Primary Class Size $73,229,929

School Breakfast Program $2,687,265

SOL Algebra Readiness $9,018,272

Alternative Education $6,729,485

ISAEP $2,247,581

Special Education - Regional Tuition $75,141,153

Vocational Education - Categorical $10,400,829

No Child Left Behind/Education for a Lifetime $4,749,675

Project Graduation $2,774,478

Supplemental Basic Aid $938,311

Remedial Summer School $25,064,692

English as a Second Language $37,272,009

Textbooks (split funded) $24,919,982

Total $435,200,000

I’m thinking you get the same questions that I do, and that this might help.

Thank you, Robley Jones

VEA GR&R

[Gopher Broke]

What they don't tell us if this is the total funding for these programs or just the Lottery part of the funding.

[Carley]

As with every other state, the lottery money replaces the funding they back out when the lottery money arrives.

This way they can show that the lottery money is actually going towards education. They never show you how they used the original money for other items.

[albie]

“At Risk”, “Foster Care”...what is this? Also $2.5 mil for breakfast?

[Oldexpat]

Just be carefull..if the schools actually taught them math the little buggers would never buy another lottery ticket.
The lottery..and liberalism..for people who are bad at math.

[MayflowerMadam]

The more money funneled in to public education, whether via lottery, taxes, etc., the lazier the teachers become, and the dumber the students become. You’d think the powers that be would see the correlation.

[Corin Stormhands]

More important, they don’t tell you how much never gets out of Richmond...