What is the lottery's role in school funding

The McClure family in Torrance posed a great question today about school finance in the Daily Breeze.

Q: There are school bond measures on the Nov. 4 ballot for maintenance, new building and improvements that need to be done, but wasn't the lottery supposed to provide money for the schools? How much do we actually get from the lottery?

A: Money from the California lottery provides approximately 1 to 2 percent of all education funding for California schools, the California lottery Web site states.

In fiscal year, 2005-06, the California Department of Education received $1.28 billion from the lottery and $62 billion from the state's general fund, the Web site says. That translates to about $154 and $10,325 per pupil, respectively, based upon more than 8.3 million students in California's public schools, according to the Web site.

In addition to K-12 schools, lottery proceeds also go to, among others, community colleges, the University of California and the California State University systems, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Division of Juvenile Justice, the Web site says.

"According to the Lottery Act, lottery contributions can be used only for instructional purposes and it bans use for the acquisition of property, the construction of facilities or the funding of research," the Web site states.

The full text of the California State Lottery Act of 1984 is available online at www.leginfo.ca.gov/cq. Click on California Law, click on the Government Code box and type "lottery act" into the search box.