San Diego

San Diego Explained: Schools Aren't Rolling in Lottery Cash

For more than three decades, the California Lottery has sent money to public schools in the state thanks to a ballot proposition approved by voters in 1984.

Every time school districts are facing slashes to their budgets – like the big cuts coming to San Diego Unified and other schools across the county – people often wonder why the lottery money doesn't provide more of a cushion.

San Diego Unified has received about $490 million in total, or close to $16 million per year from the lottery. That may sound like a lot, but the district's general fund revenues this year alone are near $1.3 billion, so it's really just a drop in the bucket.

In this week’s San Diego explained, NBC 7 San Diego's Monica Dean and Voice of San Diego's Ashly McGlone clear up any questions about the lottery money flowing into San Diego schools.

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