Education 7-13-07

A change in the way lottery money is distributed could mean more money for school construction in more than half the state's counties, but Guilford would be subject to a $2.7 million loss as would other urban counties. Under existing law, 40 percent of the net lottery profits are set aside to help build schools. The formula awards a disproportionate amount to counties with property tax rates higher than the state average. The bill, House Bill 9, would change the formula so that 65 percent of the allocation was based on the number of students in each district. Half of the remaining 35 percent will go to districts where the student population has grown in the past five years and the other half will go to districts in poor counties. The bill now goes to the Senate.