A first-ever state lottery in Tennessee would likely send more students to college, but many questions remain about what鈥攊f any鈥攂enefits K-12 schools might see.
On Nov. 5, voters easily passed a referendum that amends the state constitution to give the legislature the go-ahead to create a state lottery. Many educators are hopeful such a move will help improve funding for schools, after years of taking budget cuts as part of the state鈥檚 overall fiscal crisis. (鈥淭enn. Budget Crisis Is Lawmakers鈥� Pet Project,鈥� June 19, 2002.)
Some conservatives and religious groups fervently opposed the referendum and still hope to sink any pro-lottery bill.
If a lottery is approved by the legislature, the $300 million or so in expected annual net proceeds would pay for college scholarships to needy students, as called for in the ballot measure. Any money left over could help support preschool and K-12 programs.
Mixed Expectations
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to give the message that the legislature has solved our problems,鈥� said Jerry Winters, the government-relations director for the Tennessee Education Association, the state鈥檚 main teachers鈥� union.
鈥淣o doubt this is going to increase scholarship opportunities, but it certainly is not going to adequately address the terrible underfunding of higher education in this state,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 yet to be seen how much money is going to be left over to go to K-12 education.鈥�
Lotteries usually do not produce a lot of money for education, relative to overall state education budgets, but they can provide crucial dollars for specific programs, said Michael P. Griffith, a policy analyst with the Denver-based Education Commission of the States.
In fact, one of Tennessee鈥檚 neighbors, Georgia, has one of the nation鈥檚 most lucrative lotteries, and the money from it has been targeted to specific education programs, such as the highly popular HOPE Scholarships for college students.
In Tennessee, supporters estimate that the lottery would bring in about $1 billion a year. About half of that would be given back to winners, and 15 percent would be used for administrative costs.
The legislature will decide how the scholarships would be given鈥攖hrough a formula based on merit, need, or a combination of both. Any revenue left over is slated to go to K-12 capital expenses, including school construction, computers, furniture, and buses. Funds could also be allotted for preschool and after-school programs.
Tennessee鈥檚 lottery supporters are confident that the legislature will approve a plan in the coming months, said William F. Ford, a professor of economics and finance at Middle Tennessee State University, in Murfreesboro.
Legislators will be pressured to establish a lottery soon because a majority of voters in every legislative district approved the referendum, said Mr. Ford, who is a member of a state commission formed last week to study how a lottery might be set up. 鈥淲e will have a lottery,鈥� he predicted, 鈥渋t鈥檚 just a question of how soon.鈥�
Religious Concerns
The path to creating a lottery in the increasingly conservative Volunteer State has been years in the making. While Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia鈥� all of which border the state鈥攈ave approved lotteries, Tennesseans bucked the trend.
But recent years have seen a rise in pro-lottery sentiment, fueled by desires for more education dollars and the knowledge that the state was losing out as residents crossed state lines to buy lottery tickets or visit casinos and racetracks. Mr. Ford鈥檚 research put Tennessee鈥檚 losses at $1 billion a year.
But the Gambling Free Tennessee Alliance, a grassroots group formed to oppose the lottery, says voters were duped. They called the measure 鈥渁 recipe for rampant corruption鈥� that would hurt the poor and addict thousands of teenagers to gambling.
The campaign was about much more than economics, though. Tennessee, often dubbed the 鈥渂uckle of the Bible Belt,鈥� is the home to the Southern Baptist Convention and hundreds of other churches that used religious messages to fight the move. Some held prayer vigils to voice their opposition.
Sen. Stephen I. Cohen, a Democrat from Memphis and the legislature鈥檚 longtime lottery proponent, has repeatedly argued against the religious groups鈥� assertion that God would not approve of the lottery.
鈥淚 can say that God exists in Georgia and 37 other states with lotteries,鈥� Mr. Cohen said in a speech last year. If the lottery passed, he added, 鈥淕od might even thank you.鈥�
But the opposition doesn鈥檛 see the lottery as a free lunch for school supporters.
New Taxes?
Barrett Duke, the vice president of research for the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a written statement that those who 鈥渂elieve that lotteries will provide much-needed funding for college education will be very disappointed in about five years, when they discover that their taxes will have to be raised to pay for the additional costs brought on by burgeoning college enrollments.鈥�
Mr. Ford agreed that college enrollments would likely increase, particularly at state schools, but said having a more educated population would also help the state鈥檚 tax base.
At Middle Tennessee State, Mr. Ford added, 85 percent of the 20,000 students hold jobs to help pay their bills. 鈥淲e hope it will increase college enrollment鈥攖hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e trying to do,鈥� he said of a lottery. 鈥淚t will help students who maintain good grades to borrow less and work less, study more and graduate sooner.鈥�
