The dollars involved are significant. Transfers from lottery profits to the education fund have climbed: $1.13 billion in 2020, $1.41 billion in 2022, $1.46 billion in 2023, $1.51 billion in 2024 and $1.45 billion in 2025. The current state budget estimates $1.47 billion in each of the next two fiscal years. Since 1974, $32 billion has been provided for Ohio education.
The real story isn’t the size of the number but how the figure fits into how the state funds their portion of education.
According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, lottery profits have never accounted for more than 17 percent of total state spending on primary and secondary education since its inception, and recently it has been around 12 percent. In practical terms, this means nearly 90 percent of state spending on schools comes from primarily income and sales taxes deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
Lottery dollars are woven into the budget rather than stacked on top of it.
The Ohio General Assembly appropriates a total amount for K–12 education, and lottery profits are counted as one revenue stream within this total. If lottery transfers come in at $1.45 billion, that reduces the amount the state must draw from general tax revenue to reach its target. It does not automatically add $1.45 billion in new spending above and beyond what lawmakers have allocated.
Policy Matters Ohio shows the total state support for K–12 education reached $23.34 billion in the 2024–25 budget and is projected to grow. This includes foundation funding, special education support and targeted aid for low-income students. Policy Matters notes when adjusted for inflation, some categories of school funding have not kept pace with rising costs.
The Buckeye Institute has emphasized how Ohio education dollars are structured and distributed emphasizing the focus should be on funding students rather than systems while adopting fiscal guardrails tying spending growth to inflation and population trends. The think tank gives examples such as expanding school choice options, and allowing school funding to follow students and promote accountability.
These perspectives are different, but share the fact lottery profits are only one component of a much larger and more complex school funding framework.
A school district does not receive a separate check labeled “lottery money.” Instead, lottery proceeds are blended into the state aid formula administered through the education budget. District allocations are determined by enrollment, local property wealth and other factors, not by how many tickets are sold in a particular zip code.
This helps explain why, even with more than $1.4 billion flowing from lottery profits each year, local districts still regularly seek voter approval for property tax levies. The cost of operating schools far exceeds what lottery revenues alone can cover.
In short: the lottery helps, but it doesn’t carry the load and that’s a distinction Ohioans deserve to understand fully.
Rob Scott, a Republican, is the Kettering Clerk of Court, attorney, and small business owner. Contact him atrob@robscott.us.
About the Author