Absolutely. Not only should it be used to improve public schools where needed, It should offset the cost of secondary education. the 20 something generation is already preparing to take the brunt of the blow from overspending and borrowing from the baby boomers, the last thing they need is to rack up tremendous student loan debt. what quality of life will be left in this country in 20, 30 years?

Absolutely! Get the government out of these year-to-year budget decisions and make them work within the real budget!

The southern states still earmark their lottery/gambling tax funds directly towards education. As a result, states like Florida can offer FREE in state tuition to students with high GPA's in HS. This keeps their best students in state for college, boosting their economy during and after their time at school. RI needs to do a better job of retaining their high-performing HS grads!

When the lottery was born it was then and there the officials Blessed the proceeds to benefit the schools. Ahhh but here we are ! What's new ?!

Yeah they should STUFF EVEN MORE PAY AND BENEFITS INTO THE POCKETS OF UNION TEACHERS... LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GIMME A BREAK!!!!!!!!

Yeah UNION TEACHERS are doing a GREAT JOB, we're not quite last in education achievement. Pay them even MORE! That 1.5 MILLION pension they get after being overpaid for 30 years aint enough.... lets go BROKE overpaying teachers! Without that union, they'd get 50k and a 401k retirement plan, LIKE EVERY PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHER!

no no the sign says benefiting all rhode ilanders { must mean the tax payer lmao }
when do you think this will start? the taxpayers need relief not more spending money for the school departments

Why, arent the school systems pigishly stealing enough from us already? Apparently not.

NKGOP I'd like to know where private school teachers make 50K???? They are lucky to make 25K which is a total joke. This is why I would think a public school teacher needs a union. Can't understand why unions are always brought up into every conversation, isn't this about get $$$ for our own children. They didn't say the teachers were getting raises. Maybe my grandson could have technology or even supplies that his teacher does not have to buy herself for once. My grandson's teacher goes above and beyond her role as a teacher and she deserves more money than what she gets.....just stating my opinion. Have you ever been in a classroom. When I was well I use to volunteer it is unbelievable what these teachers have to deal with. Walk in their shoes, go donate a month of your time to see what they do before you run your mouth.

The only problem I see in this is that it isn't guaranteed money. What happens if one year we have a bunch of big wins and then the next year we have nothing? There will have to be major cuts.

Perhaps a third solution would be to use the money to fund an education endowment. The principal doesn't get touched but interest from the endowment could be used to fund education. I guess the trick there would be to keep the politicians from "borrowing" from it.

No matter what question that is asked by the Patch the answer is always "Bash, bash,bash" the unions, the city council, the mayor, the teachers, the unemployed, the school committee......They should rename this website to "WoonsocketBash".
If a positive story about anything happening in northern RI is published perhaps one or two people comment. Let's rename this site and accept what it really is.

We bash, bash, bash the unions because it is time for an end of "strong-arm labor" union practices and union-cronyism (which is exactly what happened last night when the council voted on a Buzby investigation (it was voted down STRONG-ARM-UNION-CRONYISM). Woonsocket's residents are paying the price for UNION THEFT and INFLATED UNION WAGES. The one percenters are targeting the wrong group!

I had to leave RI back in 05 for work and am currently in SC. In this state the lottery is called the education lottery. Funds from that go to both public schools as well as residents who go on to collage. It is a wonderful program down here and I honestly don’t understand why more places don’t do it. Just try to remember all adults were once in school and we became the new generation of workers and leaders. We need to give the children the same if not better chance to learn a good education and make a better next generation.

@Curious...Were you forced you to take out the student loans? Most likely not.
Middle class income is defined by the census beureau as an income between 36K and 57K. 15 years as a public school teacher puts you well within that range. If you run events or head up groups such as chess club or drama, you get a stipend. And lastly, coming in early and staying late is commonplace for people that work in an offce setting and supervise people. Your union needs to give you better talking points because they dont work anymore. If you want to make more money with less responsibility, go back to waitressing or go dig a ditch with your brother to remind yourself how good you have it.

Just look at the Woonsocket school situation and you want to give them more money? Give me a break. There needs to be accountability and with the present setup, there is none. Municipalities have been handcuffed with all of the state regulations and mandates placed on them. The tail is wagging the dog! Let the lottery money flow the way it is for now until government cleans up its act.

So what your sayin is my taxes gotta go up so some business can get money off? How about this? NO! That's my betta way.

Govstench,
Let's look at the REAL problem, which is the parents, not the schools. No parental accountability equals kids who do not value education. No follow through at home guarantees no success in school.
Tired of NK antics...very bitter...maybe you should go back to school to be a teacher if you think it's so easy and profitable...if not, don't judge

Teachers are overpaid, BUT I still think we NEED teacher unions to avoid unfair and political driven hiring and employment practices. But the pay and pensions have to come down.

2006 RI Teacher Salary Expenditures: $776,000,176

That's approx $1500 PER WORKING Rhode Islander per year! And that was SIX YEARS AGO....

The main problem with RI and the financial woes it faces is no economic development! The swamp has been drained and the piles of debris are there to be seen. The public unions have been scamming the process for decades, slowly winning over more and more generous contracts to its members.
The present hole this state is in will not be fixed overnight - it will take years with much pain. This state will not emerge from this recession until 2020, the hole is that deep. Don't listen to the pols with their hot air, look at the financial sheets - they tell the story. The first step the taxpayers, the voters can do is start turning out the people in that legislature that got us here. Watch what they submit for legislation and judge for yourselves if they are properly representing you! People became complacent and have no one but themselves to blame.

Well said. It would be a different story if some of the highest paid teachers in this country actually produced the highest educated, but that is far from the truth. And without an educated--and trainable, highly competent work force, who wants to come here? Why not MA and CT that do so much better? You wonder why our children leave this State? We can be so much better--but there are many people invested in the faliling path we are on.... Too much apathy!

Imzadi, teachers should be paid what it costs to staff the position. Just like any other industry. REMEMBER, in CF, one teacher position had HUNDREDS of applicants. This is not a desirable district. The positions are OVERCOMPENSATED and the ratio of applicants per job is all the proof you need.

NO MORE SOLO WINNERS ! THESE MULTI-MILLIONS SHOULD BE SPREAD OUT AMONGST MANY ! lOTTERY MAKES CERTAIN ONLY I MAYBE A FEW WINNERS SO THERE CUT IS BIGGER ! OUTRIGHT CORRUPTION ,GREED ! DISGRACEFUL ! SO
MANY COULD BENEFIT AND ALL WITH GENEROUS WINNINGS !

i REALIZE THAT ! I WANTED TOO EMPHASIZE SUBJECT !

I remember distinctly how the lottery money would be used to reduce sales tax.

Anytime government does anything, they screw it up. If the lottery was privatized, and the general fund was also privatized, we would all be better off. It would actually work because the GA would be only the watchdog...

How sweet is that...

EG RI Farm Store Sold 30K Winning Mega ticket check yours now !

NK_Voter,
Spoken like a person who doesn't have any idea about how anything works. "Can't you motivate these kids?" It takes two sides to get something done. If the teachers don't motivate, and the kids want to learn, then shame on the teachers. But if the teachers are trying to motivate and education is just not important to the kids then it won't work either. With all the obese people in our country, and all the health problems due to smoking, poor eating habits, lack of exercise...don't you think doctors are telling these people what they need to do so they can be healthy? Why can't the doctors motivate these people? I'll tell you why, because these people have been told what to do and they just don't want to do it, so they don't.