House Speaker Pro Tempore Gus Blackwell vowed today to oppose a plan that would slash the amount of lottery funds going to state schools. "Whether you voted to create the lottery or opposed it, everyone should agree that lottery funds are earmarked for education," said Blackwell, R-Goodwell. "Because a majority of people voted this into law, I am sworn to uphold that law and oppose any effort to divert that money. And Governor Henry, as the state's biggest lottery booster, must ensure its operations start living up to the promises he made to children, families and teachers." Oklahoma law requires that education programs receive 35 percent of lottery proceeds beginning in the third year of operation. However, Oklahoma Lottery Commission Executive Director Jim Scroggins recently said lawmakers should divert a significant portion of that money and use it to increase the size of lottery prizes. The law already requires that at least 45 percent of lottery revenue be used for prizes with another 20 percent designated for administrative costs. If Scroggins' plan goes into effect, millions of dollars will becut from school budgets to prop up the floundering lottery. Because state law requires lottery money to be divided among numerous education programs, Oklahoma's K-12 schools get just under 16 percent of gross lottery revenues. "Think about it: Our K-12 public schools get less than 16 cents out of every $1 spent on a lottery ticket, and Director Scroggins thinks that's too much," Blackwell said. Most of the lottery states that border Oklahoma provide just 24 percent to 29 percent of gross revenue for state programs, including education. Scroggins has suggested those states should be a model for Oklahoma. "Oklahoma is one of the only states in the region that has committed a serious share of lottery funds to education," Blackwell said. "I don't think we should abandon that commitment just to help bureaucrats mask their failures." Due to declining performance critics believe is caused by poor management, lottery officials recently announced that that this year's sales will total just $244 million instead of $413 million as originally promised. That means the state's share for education programs fell from $124 million to just $83 million. The lost revenue has created budget problems for schools across the state and threatened teacher pay increases. "Lottery sales have plummeted, which is exactly what opponents of the lottery predicted. This loss now hurts our school budgets and Director Scroggins wants to further cut their share of that declining dollar," Blackwell said. "Our schools deserve better treatment."

Labels: Brad Henry, Lottery, Rep. Blackwell

Posted at 3/27/2007 11:10:00 AM