subject: California Lottery History and Education [print this page] California Lottery History and Education California Lottery History and Education
The California Lottery was established after a majority of the state's voters had approved Proposition 37, the California State Lottery Act on November 6, 1984. The California Lottery Act provides that a minimum of 34% of the revenues must be contributed to public education.
This contribution represents a supplemental funding, which offers schools the possibility to meet their locally determined needs. The Lottery Act also specifies that the California Lottery must be operated by a Commission that should be appointed by the governor.
The California Lottery proceeds are distributed as follows:
1. At least 50% of the revenues are returned to the public in form of lottery prizes.
2. A minimum of 34% is contributed to public education.
3. Up to 16 % is used for the lottery's administrative operating expenses, with 6.9 % for retailer commissions and bonuses, 3.4 % for operating expenses and 2.9 % for game costs.
As mentioned above, the California Lottery is operated by a Commission that is appointed by the Governor. A new chair is selected every year. Generally, there are quarterly boardmeetings open to the public.
The ticket sales started at about $1.8 billion in1984/85 and grew to a peak of $2.6 billion in 1989. A period of decline followed until 1992, and then the sales have steadily increased ever since. The California Lottery sales in fiscal year 2005/06 totaled more than $3.5 billion.
The California Lottery's purpose is to provide funding to the state's public education on every level, starting from kindergarten through the University of California plus other specialized schools. The goal is to do everything possible in order to meet the educational needs of funding by managing sales growth. The proceeds are equally distributed to all segments of public schools per pupil funding level, based on the pupils' average daily attendance in each school district.
On a general basis, the California Lottery contributes more than $1 Billion per year to the state's public schools. 77% of the contributions are allocated to salaries funds and other benefits for educators. This is a huge help as far as class size reduction, classroom aids, nurses, psychologists and other specialists are concerned. Another 18% of the school funds is used in order to buy classroom instructional materials, such as textbooks, supplies, computers and software, books and lab equipment. The last 5% of the funds are used for other school related programs and services.
The California Lottery funds account for about 1.5% of all the state's education funding, thus providing the school districts with the flexibility of keeping valuable programs and services for students. Also, the unclaimed lottery prizes are collected into a fund and then given to schools.
