People know how to play the lottery, but often don’t know where the money goes. Here’s how many dollars spent on lottery tickets in Texas go to education.

The Texas Lottery has experienced financial growth since 1992, generating over $39 billion in revenue for education, veterans services and other state programs, according to the Texas Lottery.

A portion of the lottery proceeds goes to the Foundation School Fund, which the Texas Education Agency says is critical to funding public education.

The lottery was created with the intention of generating additional revenue for public services, particularly education and programs for veterans.

For its 2023 fiscal year, which ran from October 1, 2022, to September 3, 2023, the Foundation had total revenues of $24.2 billion, of which $2.131 billion came from the Texas Lottery.

Historical impact

The lottery provides Texas schools with just over $2 billion annually, covering about five days of a typical 180-day school year. That’s down from over 10 days of funding over 25 years ago, when the state lottery began operating at full capacity.

Since 1992, the lottery has continuously contributed to government revenue, exceeding the rate of inflation.

When the lottery was introduced, it was touted by some politicians – though not all – as a significant boost to education, even though its primary purpose was to serve as a small-scale solution to a budget crisis.

Nevertheless, the myth that the lottery would cover a significant portion of government education spending persisted.

How is the money distributed?

According to TEA, the funds allocated to the Foundation School Fund play a critical role in improving educational outcomes and resources.

The Texas Lottery’s continued revenue growth and strategic resource allocation underscore not only its financial health but also its positive impact on the education sector.

These investments go towards a range of services, from improving school infrastructure to supporting student programs, teacher salaries, technology improvements and extracurricular activities.

challenges

According to the 2022–23 Texas Almanac, local property taxes and total state revenues are the primary sources of funding for public schools in Texas.

In the ten years between 2008 and 2018, state revenue for schools fell by 12.6%, even though student enrollment grew by 13.7% over the same period, the almanac says.

In 2019, lawmakers passed HB 3, which made significant reforms to school funding.

The law increases per-pupil funding, provides full-day preschool for eligible four-year-olds, and provides funds for teacher salary increases.

Since the law was passed, there has been no report or update on per-student funding.

Future forecasts

According to the Texas AFT — a statewide union for elementary, secondary, and community college teachers, support staff, and retirees — some school districts use a rate-based election when they want to raise the property tax rate above an amount set by the state.

In a voter approval tax rate election, voters are asked to approve a tax rate change that would better fund student programs and teacher and staff salaries.