Lottery Craze Helps Idaho Schools

Ok, so you didn't win the $1.6 billion last night, but hey it's not a total loss. Actually, some of the money you forked over to buy those lottery tickets is actually going to a great cause that will benefit kids right here in our community.

David Workman with the Idaho Lottery told KTVB that in terms of overall activity, they're seeing about 10 times the normal activity for Powerball and Mega Millions. That means there's a lot of people spending money to hopefully make some money. So where exactly does the money from ticket sales go?

It turns out that a really good chunk of the money stays right here in Idaho, specifically, 40% of those sales come right back to the state. Specifically, the funds go to help schools.

According to KTVB, the money is sent to different departments in the state:

“Three-eighths of it goes to the [Idaho] Department of Education [...] That money goes to school facilities and is divvied up to districts based on average Dailey attendance. Another one-fourth goes to the Department of Education’s bond levy equalization fund, which helps school districts pay off bonds."

"Three-eighths goes to the Department of Administration for the state’s permanent building facilities fund. That money funds projects and maintenance on state-owned facilities, mainly on Idaho college campuses."

So how much are we talking exactly? Last year alone, Idaho received a record-setting $53.5 million from ticket sales, with $33.4 million going to public schools.

So don't feel too bad for not winning the jackpot, you're still doing something pretty awesome.