
Should lottery revenue benefit both public and private education?
By Kate Northrop
A bill introduced to South Carolina legislature aims to reinstate a school voucher program that will allow state lottery revenue to be spent on private school tuition in addition to public education.
South Carolina lawmakers are slated to begin the next legislative session next Tuesday, with the first item of discussion being whether lottery dollars should be spent on private education in a school voucher program.
One of the common ways states make use of lottery revenue is funding public education. Should SB 0062 pass, those dollars would fund private education as well.
Passing the bill would mean reinstating the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program, which originally paid for private tuition through the state's general fund. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that it was in violation of the state's constitutional ban on public dollars directly benefitting private schools.
SB 0062 is essentially a revision that reinstates the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program, but the main difference is that the funds would come from lottery revenue, not the state's General Fund.
The revised bill would allow up to 2,500 students to receive scholarships in the first year, and then up to 15,000 by the third year of implementation. Funding for the program would be based on the average amount the state spends per public school student in the previous year.
Lastly, the program dictates that only families below a certain annual income threshold are eligible to receive this money. This bill raises the threshold to 600% of the federal poverty level by full implementation, meaning a family of four earning around $187,000 in 2024 would qualify.
The main motivation for passing the bill, Hembree explained, is simply a matter of moving money around that already exists, which would allow the program to receive funding versus none. Many of the existing programs that the lottery funds would instead move over to be funded by the General Fund. Those programs would continue to be supported since they are public institutions, which would allow more leeway for private schools.
Several lawmakers have directly challenged the bill, arguing that this would create more headaches and prompt yet another lawsuit, since lottery dollars are considered public funds. Some have also expressed concerns over the state directly contributing to private religious institutions, which threatens the separation of church and state.
Lottery revenue in South Carolina currently funds college scholarships, such as Life, Hope, and Palmetto Fellows, which can be used at private colleges.
"It remains unconstitutional, and I don't know how we're going to get around that," Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto said at the meeting. "We know it's going to be challenged, and I would love to hear your idea on how lottery dollars are not public dollars. It just seems to me that they clearly are."
Despite the pushback, Senate Education Committee Chairman Greg Hembree reasons that Education Lottery money is not taxpayer funded, therefore it can be used for the voucher program.
"The Supreme Court has previously allowed the use of lottery money for private education, distinguishing it from general fund money," Hembree contended. "The court seems to find some distinction there."
Another issue some legislators point out is the original intent of the education program — to provide more schooling options to lower-income families who otherwise would not have been able to afford them.
"We really are ultimately going to be subsidizing every private school in this state because there's going to be no disincentive for every student in that school to sign up for this program," Hutto stated.
With the threshold for receiving benefits increased to 600% of the federal poverty line, the bill defeats the purpose of this original intent.
"Every student will be eligible for this money," Hutto continued. "Three years from now, we're going to be writing a check from the state treasury for $1.6 million to private schools in your district, and that money could have gone to your public schools."
Hembree compelled his fellow lawmakers to reach a swift conclusion on the topic and urged a complete discussion on the first day of the legislative session next week.
"There are real people whose lives are being affected," Hembree said. "They don't know which way they're going to go with their educational life until we act."
Senator Darrell Jackson questioned whether the urgency on Hembree's part was so necessary.
"Would that one week really make a difference in the eventual outcomes of these families?" Jackson supposed.
"The bill is very similar to the last bill we passed with several key policy questions; they're going to become pretty clear, and those will have to be debated," Hembree responded. "Those policy questions will have to be debated on the floor regardless."
Hutto's final suggestion was to allow voters to decide whether South Carolina residents would ultimately want to spend money on private education, in which he believes voters would be against the idea.
"If there's a desire to change that, let's do the right thing and put it to the voters, and if the voters agree with that — if they think that that's a wise use of public money," Hutto advocated.
Instead of improving the public school standards their plan is to line the pockets of these private schools.
How about using those dollars to cover the deductible of those low income households? Or better yet, free healthcare for kids until a certain age?
The lottery was not set up to finance private schools and should not be used for that purpose. No school vouchers should be paid for with lottery money. None. That money should be used to improve public schools and for scholarships after high school.
You think private schools are free!?
Exactly, anytime "lawmakers" ANNOUNCE what they're "about to do " believe that it's already a done deal.... the only way to show your disdain is to cut back on gambling...... taking from the underfunded public schools with the grifters taking office on Jan. 20th/ is "Par For The Course"!!!!
South Carolina needs to let players play online 😔
The vast majority of private schools are religious schemes. The lottery is a public scheme. No part of the lottery's receipts should go to any private school. I hope the bill fails.
If you want your kid to attend a private school, then YOU pay for the privilege.
Why should the lottery pay for it?
It's not fair to everyone else in SC that can't afford that prestige or luxury.
Agree totally zephbe