South Carolina’s education lottery system has exceeded financial expectations, provided more than 932,000 scholarships and become a central part of the state’s higher education landscape, advocates say as the lottery nears its 10th anniversary.
But some question whether the lottery, started 10 years ago on Jan. 7, 2012, has given cover to college and university officials to raise tuitions. Others wonder if the lottery has made it easier for the General Assembly to cut state money to higher education.
Former S.C. Gov. Jim Hodges, who signed into law the legislation that created the lottery, said Friday the lottery has been a big success and stands as an example of the state’s political system working toward a goal that brought big benefits.
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“There was a bipartisan group that not only worked on passing the legislation but implementing it,” Hodges said. “It’s a great example of how people of goodwill can come together for the good of the state.”
The lottery has put $2.1 billion into higher education over the past decade. The bulk of that money – some 83 percent – has gone for scholarships and grants, according to figures compiled for the S.C. Education Lottery.
S.C. students have received 932,067 scholarships through the lottery.
The number of lottery scholarships awarded rose from 83,890 in 2002-2003 to 112,298 in 2009-2010. Scholarship awards dipped to 111,372 in 2010-2011, the first time since the start of the lottery that the number of scholarships dropped from one year to the next.
Despite that drop, S.C. students are qualifying for assistance at a rate that outstrips the ability of the lottery, as its currently set up, to pay for that aid.
State Sen. John Courson, R-Richland, who chairs the Senate Education Commission, said the lottery, eventually, will need to be adjusted either to raise scholarship eligibility standards or reduce scholarship amounts.
Courson voted against the legislation that established the lottery, arguing at the time that it would be state-sanctioned gambling. Since its start, however, Courson said the lottery has been “a boon to higher education.”
“It’s a tremendous incentive to keep our best and brightest in the state.”
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