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Request a DemoGeorgia’s Lottery Funds Preschools, Scholarships. But It May Not Be As Much As You Think
The Gist
As Georgians who may not typically play lottery games rush out to buy Mega Millions tickets for what is shaping up to be the third largest lottery jackpot ever, they take solace in the fact that lottery proceeds help fund local preschools and college scholarships.
But few know that historically, only 27% of the billions spent to play the lottery each year actually goes to education.
What’s Happening
Like a Willy Wonka golden ticket frenzy, Georgians are flocking to lottery retailers and online apps to buy tickets for a grand prize that has climbed to $1.28 billion and with odds at 1 in 302 million.
John Stephenson, a construction worker in Atlanta, has never bothered with paying the $2 for a Mega Millions ticket that likely won’t be a winner. But the $1.28 billion jackpot – with an estimated take home, after taxes, of $747.2 million – has changed his mind. “Do I think I’m gonna win? No,” said Stephenson. “But the numbers are so outstanding that I might as well try.”
Lottery tickets – including for the “Mega Millions” game – are sold in gas stations across Georgia. (Credit: Beau Evans for State Affairs)
Ticket sales for the “Mega Millions” game raised roughly $22 million for preschools and scholarships between mid-April and the most recent drawing on Tuesday, said Tandi Reddick, spokeswoman for the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Reddick did not know how many tickets – priced at $2 per ticket – had been sold at the time of publication.
A semi-government agency, the Lottery Corporation runs Georgia’s ticket games and slot machines. The governor appoints the corporation’s board, whose members pick a chief executive officer who runs the day-to-day operations. Unlike a true government agency, state taxes don’t fund the Lottery Corporation – ticket sales and slot-machine fees do.
Georgia’s governor and state lawmakers decide each year how much funding from lottery dollars will go to preschools and the HOPE scholarship. The state Department of Early Care and Learning then sends lottery funding to preschools, while the Georgia Student Finance Commission oversees HOPE scholarship awards.
Why It Matters
The most recent influx of Georgia Lottery Mega Millions money will add to the growing pot of lottery funds earmarked for Georgia’s preschools. Lottery proceeds are divided among 1,800 preschool programs that support around 80,000 4-year-olds each year across the state. A larger chunk of the lottery revenue will pay for the HOPE scholarship, available to Georgia high school students who earn at least a 3.0 grade-point average to attend in-state colleges and universities.
But exactly how much lottery money ends up in local preschools and for the HOPE scholarship?
From 1999 to 2021, Georgia’s lottery raked in more than $83 billion in ticket sales and slot-machine plays. Most ticket proceeds went to paying out game winners, Lottery Corporation records show. The rest covered lottery operation costs such as staff salaries, third-party game vendors and for commission for retailers like gas stations that sell tickets and host slot machines.
This graphic breaks down where proceeds from lottery ticket sales went in Georgia between 1999 and 2021. (Credit: Brittney Phan for State Affairs)
In that same period, roughly 27% of ticket proceeds have gone to funding preschools and college scholarships, state records show. Since the lottery kicked off in Georgia in 1993, state officials say preschools and college students have received more than $25 billion from the lottery.
“Almost thirty years since its inception, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has had a massive impact on a generation of Georgians,” said Gov. Brian Kemp in a statement Thursday. “Students have been set on a path to lifelong learning through Pre-K programs and have been afforded the opportunity to advance their careers through higher education.”
Around 113,000 college students received the HOPE scholarship this year, state data shows. Lottery dollars are also intended to fund about 84,000 preschool students at a cost of $4,733 per child, the nonprofit Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s analysis shows. State data also shows Georgia preschools last year received on average nearly $200,000 per school.
Lottery for Schools
For many first-time lottery players like Stephenson, it’s news that purchasing a “Mega Millions” ticket will help pay for school kids. Stephenson said he might even buy more tickets after learning about the funds for preschools and scholarships. “That would make me play more since I know it’s going to kids,” Stephenson said.
For some, the education benefits aren’t so important. Fard Shahid, a limousine driver in Atlanta who’s bought a ticket every day since the Mega Millions pot reached $600 million last week, said winning is the only thing on his mind. “I’m glad the schools get some money,” Shahid said. “But I care more about me winning.”
Click the image above to read about how Georgia has lost thousands of preschool teachers amid the Covid-19 pandemic and why more lottery dollars don’t go toward helping increase teacher salaries. (Credit: Brittney Phan for State Affairs)
Amid wide support among state lawmakers for the lottery, opponents have long pressed for a different model to fund preschools and scholarships that doesn’t depend on a form of gambling – particularly since the lottery tends to be more popular among poorer Georgians who can least afford to play it, said Mike Griffin, a lobbyist with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
“No one would disagree with the need for education funding,” Griffin said. “But this ends up being something that is predatory by way of trying to pull people into it, and it does take a certain amount of money out of the economy by way of only 27% going to [education].”
Metro Atlanta resident Marcus Johnson said he plays the Cash 3 lottery game at least once a week; more frequently when his monthly social security check comes in. Johnson, who is unemployed and who plays at his local Texaco in Hapeville, said the chance of drawing the winning Cash 3 number is worth the $1 he pays for every ticket — even if it’s tight for his budget.
“I’m just trying to get a little bit of extra money with what I have, that’s all,” Johnson said. “And if it really helps the kids, that’s good.”
Many Georgia preschool teachers and advocates also say lottery dollars aren’t enough to cover all the costs for classroom supplies and salaries needed to run their programs. Preschool teachers take home a roughly $35,000 salary, an amount many advocates say makes it tough to hire more teachers after thousands quit the profession during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Compensation is a real issue,” said Ellyn Cochran, president and chief executive of the advocacy and teacher-training group Quality Care for Children. “And now with inflation, that’s an even bigger challenge since it’s hitting [teachers’] bottom line.”
On Friday, Gov. Kemp said the state will use its Emergency Education Relief Funds to give teachers, and others who provide daily instructional support, $125 to use toward buying classroom supplies. Teachers also received the $125 stipend last January, costing the state $15.9 million, Kemp spokesperson Katie Byrd told The Associated Press.
The Lottery Corporation declined State Affairs’ request for an interview with Lottery President and Chief Executive Officer Gretchen Corbin to discuss lottery funding for education. In response to questions, Lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick said Lottery officials “don’t administer the educational programs that we fund or appropriate dollars to those programs.”
What’s Next?
The next drawing for the “Georgia Lottery Mega Millions” lottery game will be held Friday at 11 p.m. Drawings will be held every Tuesday and Friday in 45 states, until a winner claims the prize. Lottery players in Georgia who win prizes of $250,000 or more do not have to identify themselves publicly in order to claim their winnings.
State lawmakers are also scheduled to hold talks on how to overhaul Georgia’s funding systems for public k-12 schools and preschools during hearings of the Senate Study Committee to Review Education Funding Mechanisms, starting on Aug. 19.
Stay Informed
Follow State Affairs for updates on this story on Facebook (@StateAffairsUS) and Twitter (@StateAffairsGA).
Read State Affairs’ coverage of the lottery and school funding in Georgia:
Georgia has Lost Thousands of Preschool, Daycare Teachers. Can the Lottery Help?
Georgia Daycares Miss Out on Millions in Lottery Dollars
Meet Georgia’s Preschool and Daycare Chief
Do Georgia’s Low-Income Students Need More State School Funding?
Join The Conversation
What else do you want to know about the lottery, education funding and state government in Georgia? Share your thoughts/tips by emailing [email protected].
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House speaker Jon Burns hires new communications director
House speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, announced today that he has hired a new communications director. Kayla Roberson, who has served as press secretary at the Georgia Chamber for the past year or so, will now oversee all external communications, media relations and strategic messaging for Burns.
“I’m excited to welcome Kayla to our team,” Burns said in a statement. “Kayla has an excellent background, deep skill set and strong work ethic, and we’re excited to have her on board to continue getting our message out and sharing the House’s priorities ahead of and into the next session.”
A double major in political science and journalism at the University of Georgia, where she graduated in 2022, Roberson interned for U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican in north Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, and worked as a consultant for GOP political candidates before joining the Georgia Chamber.
“I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to work under the leadership of speaker Burns,” Roberson told State Affairs. “Whether it’s improving education opportunities, putting money back in the pockets of hardworking Georgians, creating jobs or supporting our rural communities, speaker Burns always prioritizes doing what is best, and what is right, for Georgia.”
Political strategist Stephen Lawson, who has held the top communications role for the speaker since last December, announced he’s joining Dentons, where starting today he’ll lead the global law firm’s public affairs efforts.
Have questions or comments? Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on X @journalistajill or at [email protected].
Global bird flu disrupts Georgia exports, costing chicken producers millions
ATLANTA — A global bird flu that has rapidly spread from birds to dairy cows, milk supplies and humans has cost untold millions of dollars in lost export business in Georgia, the nation’s leading poultry producer, officials with the state Department of Agriculture and poultry industry said.
Georgia has had only three reported cases of H5N1 avian influenza since it reemerged in 2022. The last of those cases was resolved in November 2023 but ramifications of those outbreaks continue to have a big effect on the state’s ability to export chicken and chicken parts, such as chicken feet, to different countries, including China, one of Georgia’s biggest export markets for chicken feet.
In 2022, frozen chicken feet, for example, accounted for more than 85% of all U.S. poultry exported to China, according to Farm Progress, publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines.
The $30 billion poultry industry is Georgia’s largest segment in its No. 1 industry — agriculture.
China has also placed a ban on the import of chicken products from 41 other American states. The ban on Georgia products went into effect Nov. 21, 2023. Efforts to reach the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C. were unsuccessful.
Georgia Poultry Federation President Mike Giles estimates the state’s loss at “well into the millions of dollars.”
“It’s a significant amount in a significant export market for us,” he said. “Poultry paws [feet] immediately lose value because of the loss of demand.”
The ban has forced Georgia poultry producers to find alternative markets for their products that would normally be headed to China.
“Some are sold domestically, some are frozen and stored, hopefully to find markets later on, and some go to other countries,” Giles said.
This isn’t the first time China has banned U.S.-produced poultry products due to a bird flu outbreak. The country instituted a ban in January 2015 which lasted until November 2019 — even though U.S. poultry products were deemed free of the disease by August 2017.
After that ban was lifted, China’s appetite for American-produced chicken products became voracious.
In 2022, U.S. producers shipped nearly $6 billion in poultry meat and related products (excluding eggs) to over 130 countries. China has emerged as the second largest destination for U.S. poultry exports, increasing from $10 million in 2019 to a record $1.1 billion in 2022, according to Southern Ag Today.
Chicken paws, for instance, are eaten in many Asian countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Korea.They can also be found on Chinese dim sum menus throughout the U.S. and are also popular in Jamaica, Trinidad, Russia and Ukraine in everything from soups and curries to fried snacks.
Three Georgia counties have reported H5N1 outbreaks since 2022. The most recent case was late last year. Henry, Sumter and Toombs counties each reported one case of H5N1 bird flu. Those outbreaks are resolved, poultry and state agriculture officials say.
“When HPAI cases are found in any state, that state is given a designation that could lead to foreign countries halting trade on poultry products from that state,” Georgia Department of Agriculture spokesman Matthew Agvent told State Affairs.
Not since 2016 has the United States experienced such a fast-moving case of the H5N1 avian influenza. In the last two months, the virus has spread in parts of the United States from birds to dairy cows, some milk supplies and humans. Two people — a Texas dairy worker and a prison inmate in Colorado who was killing infected birds at a poultry farm — are reported to have caught the virus, according to news reports. The outbreak is the largest in recent history, impacting both domestic poultry and livestock as well as wild birds and some mammal species.
State officials are continuing to monitor the national outbreak and its impact on Georgia.
Georgia’s poultry & egg industry: At A Glance
Annual economic impact: $30.2 billion
Percentage of the Agriculture industry: 58% *
Jobs: 87,900
Counties involved in poultry & egg production: 3 out of 4
National ranking in chicken broiler production: No. 1
Daily production of table eggs: 7.8 million
Daily production of hatching eggs: 6.5 million
Pounds of chicken produced daily: 30.2 million
Pounds of chicken produced annually: 8 billion
Number of chicken broilers processed each day: 5 million
Counties involved in poultry & egg production: 3 out of 4
Source: Georgia Poultry Federation; The Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development, University of Georgia, Ag Snapshots 2024; Georgia Poultry Federation.
Have questions? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
Is it safe to eat chicken and eggs and drink milk? Answers to your most pressing questions about the latest bird flu outbreak
A two-year-old strain of bird flu has heightened concerns in Georgia and the rest of the country after the virus recently spread to dairy cows. Here’s what you need to know about the virus and its impact on Georgia and the rest of the country. What are the symptoms of this flu in humans? Eye …
Kemp signs bills on education, health care, taxes
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a slew of bills over the past week or so, including the private school voucher bill long sought by Republicans and a bill that will ease regulations over the construction and expansion of medical facilities in rural areas.
His bill-signing events were clustered into themes: education, health care, military members, human trafficking and Georgia’s coastal communities.
Education
Among the education-related bills Kemp signed was Senate Bill 233, also known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, which provides the families of Georgia students enrolled in underperforming school districts with $6,500 scholarships that can be used toward private school or homeschooling expenses, including tuition, fees, textbooks and tutoring.
“Georgia is affording greater choice to families as to how and where they receive their education, while also continuing our efforts to strengthen public schools, support teachers, and secure our classrooms,” Kemp said, and thanked leadership in the House and Senate for prioritizing passage of the bill, which had failed in a close vote in 2023.
Democrats and many public education advocates who opposed the bill argued it will drain resources from public schools and primarily benefit students from wealthy families.
Kemp also signed Senate Bill 351, sponsored by nine Republican senators, which will require social media companies, as of July 1, 2025, to verify their users are at least 16 years old unless they receive approval from a parent.
House Bill 409, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Daniel, R-Locust Grove, directs school systems to consider not having bus stops where a student would have to cross a roadway with a speed limit of 40 mph or greater. The bill also increases the penalty for passing a stopped school bus to $1,000 from $250.
Kemp noted that Ashley Pierce, the mother of Addy Pierce, an 8-year-old who was fatally struck by a motorist as she boarded her school bus, “passionately advocated for and was instrumental in the passage of this legislation.”
Senate Bill 395, sponsored by Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Gwinnett, states that no school visitor or personnel can be prohibited from possessing an opioid reversal drug such as Narcan and directs schools to maintain a supply. It also allows opioid antagonists to be sold in vending machines and directs certain government buildings to maintain a supply of at least three doses.
Senate Bill 464, also sponsored by Dixon, creates the School Supplies for Teachers Program to financially and technically support teachers purchasing school supplies online. It also creates an executive committee of five voting members within the Georgia Council on Literacy and limits the number of approved literacy screeners to five, one of whom must be available to schools for free.
Health care
The governor chose his hometown of Athens as the venue to sign several bills aimed at improving health care in rural and underserved communities.
Among them was House Bill 1339, sponsored by Rep. Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, which revises the Certificate of Need process by which the state determines if and how new medical facilities can be built or expanded. The bill provides for several new exemptions, including psychiatric or substance abuse inpatient programs, basic perinatal services in rural counties, birthing centers and new general acute hospitals in rural counties. It also raises the total limit on tax credits for donations to rural hospital organizations to $100 million from $75 million.
Senate Bill 480, sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, establishes student loan repayments for mental health and substance use professionals serving underserved youth in the state or in unserved geographic areas disproportionately impacted by social determinants of health.
House Bill 872, sponsored by Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, expands cancelable loans for certain health care professionals to dental students who agree to practice in rural areas.
Senate Bill 293, sponsored by Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, reorganizes county boards of public health and opens the qualifications for the CEO of each county board of health to include either licensed physicians or people with a master’s degree in public health or a related field.
Military members and veterans
Kemp on Wednesday focused on bills to improve military recruitment and provide more work opportunities for veterans and military family members.
House Bill 880, sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard, R-Warner Robins, allows spouses of military service members to work under a license they hold in good standing in another state while under the supervision of an existing Georgia medical facility or provider.
Senate Bill 449, sponsored by Sen. Larry Walker, allows military medical personnel to practice for 12 months while a license application is pending, including working as a certified nursing aide, certified emergency medical technician, paramedic or licensed practical nurse. The bill also creates a new advanced practice registered nurse license and makes it a misdemeanor to practice advanced nursing without a license.
Human trafficking
The governor on Wednesday was accompanied by first lady Marty Kemp and other members of the GRACE Commission for the signing of an anti-human trafficking package. It includes Senate Bill 370, which adds certain businesses to the list of organizations that must post human trafficking notices, including convenience stores, body art studios, businesses that employ licensed massage therapists and manufacturing facilities.
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Hodges, R-Brunswick, the bill also allows the Georgia Board of Massage Therapy to initiate inspections of massage therapy businesses and educational programs without notice and requires massage therapy board members to complete yearly human trafficking awareness training.
House Bill 993, sponsored by Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, creates the felony offense of grooming of a minor and creates new penalties for offenses relating to visual mediums depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
House Bill 1201, sponsored by Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, allows human trafficking survivors who received first offender or conditional discharge status to vacate that status for certain crimes, as long as the crime was a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking.
Coastal communities
Earlier today in Brunswick, Kemp signed legislation impacting Georgia coastal communities, including House Bill 244, which amends the laws around how wild game can be hunted and how seafood dealers operate, and House Bill 1341, which designates white shrimp as the state’s official crustacean.
Taxes
Earlier this month Kemp signed several bills related to taxation, including House Bill 1015, sponsored by Rep. Lauren McDonald, R-Cumming, which lowers the state income tax for tax year 2024 to 5.39%, accelerating a multiyear drop in state income taxes that started at 5.75% in 2023 and will continue through 2029.
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget estimates the tax cut acceleration will save Georgia taxpayers approximately $1.1 billion in calendar year 2024 and about $3 billion over the next 10 years.
Kemp also signed House Bill 1021, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Daniel, R-Locust Grove, which increases the state’s income tax dependent exemption to $4,000 from $3,000.
House Bill 581, sponsored by Reps. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, and Clint Crowe, R-Jackson, enables a constitutional amendment (House Resolution 1022) to let voters decide whether counties can provide a statewide homestead valuation freeze, which limits the increase in property values to the inflation rate.
The governor has until May 7 to sign or veto bills passed during the legislative session that ended on March 28. Those he takes no action on will automatically become law.
Legislation signed by Kemp is posted on the governor’s website.
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Have questions, comments or tips on education in Georgia? Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on X @journalistajill or at [email protected].
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