Q&A of the Day – Florida Lottery’s education funding
It’s the Q&A of the day. Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Facebook: Brian Mudd https://www.facebook.com/brian.mudd1
Today’s question was submitted via Twitter…
Brian, I believe that the Florida Lottery was approved to benefit or fund schools. Can you research how much revenue the Lottery gets every year and how those funds are used.
Bottom Line: This is one of the most consistent questions I’ve received over the years. Does the Florida Lottery money really go to education? With education funding back in the news - the current debate over the use of tax increases being shared with charter schools - it’s a good time to provide an update.
Florida Lottery proceeds really do go to education.
Here's how the Florida Lottery distributes it:
- 65% paid to winners
- 27% education
- 6% to retailers
- 1% to ticket vendors
- 1% admin fees
More than three-quarters of the money (77%) that isn’t paid out to the winners goes to education in the state (with the rest simply being the cost of operating the lottery). It’s over a billion dollars per year that’s sent to education statewide.
The money is also distributed to school districts equitably based on student enrollment meaning Miami-Dade receives the most (at nearly $124 million most recently), Broward second most (at around $61 million) and Palm Beach County the fourth most money(just over $57 million).