Idaho Lottery allocates $45.3 million to Idaho's K-12 schools for facility upgrades

The Idaho Lottery has announced that its annual allocation of funds to the state’s K-12 public schools was $45.3 million.

Idaho Lottery dividends are used by school districts for building maintenance, repairs, and operational projects.

The Lottery says in a news release that for fiscal 2021, it disbursed $27,187,500 to the School Building Fund Account for maintenance and operations projects and another $18,125,000 has gone to the Department of Education’s Bond Levy Equalization Fund to pay the interest on Idaho’s Public School bonds.

“For more than three decades, the Idaho Lottery has contributed much-needed funds for Idaho school districts across the state to repair and maintain school buildings,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said. “This year the annual dividend surpassed a record $45 million, and I am thrilled that we can gather in person, once again, to celebrate that contribution.”

Schools districts in Idaho have been receiving state lottery funds since 1990. The state's largest system, the West Ada district, has received more than $45 million in lottery proceeds since 1990; the Boise district has received more than $38 million.