A shortfall in state lottery revenues means public schools won’t get any money from the lottery in March, officials said.
Lottery proceeds are down $5.5 million from July to January compared with the same period the year before. Districts got half of the money they were supposed to get in February, officials said.
The Charleston County School District receives about $287,000 per month in lottery money, but the delay in getting those funds shouldn’t be a problem, said Larry Clark, the district’s interim chief financial officer.
If the money were to go away completely, that would be more of a problem, he said. The district gets about $3.5 million a year in lottery money, and its operating budget this year is about $320 million.
The district will be able to continue operating as is until it gets the money, Clark said.
Dorchester District 2 receives an annual payment of more than $1.1 million in lottery funds and has a total budget of more than $128 million.
The district expects its March lottery payment of $140,950 will be delayed, and public relations director Pat Raynor said the district’s February lottery payment was reduced by nearly $23,500.
The delay won’t cause any program or staff cuts in March, but Raynor said officials will pay close attention to the situation and hope the funds can be returned by April.

read_more


Tags: ,