The ticket-buying frenzy that accompanied last week's MegaMillions jackpot is supposed to help out the schools in California.
And it does. Millions of dollars flows into state school coffers, which translates to the windfall of $8.67 per student, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Or put another way, about 16 percent of what lawmakers in Sacramento are cutting away from schools' budgets this year, the newspaper reported.
The mid-year budget cuts, for example, cut away $55 per student by contrast, the newspaper reported.
"Every dollar counts, but this isn't going to make a big difference," said Peggy Marshburn, spokeswoman for the Contra Costa County Office of Education, in an interview with the newspaper.
Lottery revenues are about 2 percent of schools' overall spending.
The record-setting $640 million Mega Millions jackpot spurred a ticket-buying spree generating "about $70 million more for education than during the average nine-week period in 2011," the newspaper reported.
