Dive Brief:
- The South Carolina Department of Education has failed to properly — and legally — divvy up $30 million in South Carolina Education Lottery funds, according to an audit by a Legislative Audit Council.
- The audit found that instead of prioritizing underachieving schools and issuing the fund through grants, the state Department of Education had created its own funding formula that did neither.
- While the department has reviewed the final audit, it has yet to comment on it.
Dive Insight:
Of the $309 million total the South Carolina Education Lottery amassed during the 2013-14 school year, $263 million went to higher education, leaving only 7% for K-12 education. While this was not necessarily illegal — unlike how the 7% was distributed — it does show a lack of understanding. Many people voted in favor of the lottery with the idea that it would greatly benefit their K-12 schools, and that just isn't the case.
In addition to finding issues with where the money was allocated, the audit found inconsistent oversight in how the money was spent in each district.
State education lotteries are hit or miss. In August, the Florida Lottery donated $1.4 billion to the state's education budget, which is an astounding number. A few weeks earlier, the Georgia Lottery Corp. transferred $945 million to the state's education fund. The Georgia amount was massive, but it didn't meet the state's mandate that 35% of lottery profits go toward education.