Tennessee Lottery officials gave the state nearly $64 million Thursday to fund college scholarships.
The transfer of $63,774,000 from the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. to the bank account for scholarships represents the profits since the first scratchoff tickets were sold Jan. 20.
"It's the most exciting day in our history," lottery CEO Rebecca Paul told members of the Tennessee State Funding Board. The money comes from profits on $231.6 million in sales through March 31.
She said the lottery expects to give the state another $41.3 million at the June 30 end of the fiscal year, which would put scholarship funds well ahead of estimates.
The goal was to raise at least $88 million to send an estimated 65,000 students to higher education institutions next fall.
Paul said she estimates that nearly $200 million will be raised for scholarships during the next fiscal year.
"I feel good about achieving those levels. I would hate to commit to anything more than that, although it is possible," she said.
Lawmakers required lottery officials to provide the Funding Board with projections to help state officials decide how many scholarships could be offered.
Comptroller John Morgan, who chairs the Funding Board, said after the meeting that the lottery "is certainly exceeding expectations for the current year, because it got up and going so fast.
"For next year, the numbers I think were appropriately conservative. And if our estimates of the number of applications were accurate, it looks like we'll have the money," he said.
Eligible Tennessee students can get scholarships for public or private four- or two-year colleges in the state. Scholarships also are available for the state's public technical schools.
The Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. oversees the Lottery Scholarship Program and is encouraging students to apply by the end of April for awards up to $4,000.
"By making higher education available to all motivated students, we are helping to raise the aspirations and expectations of all Tennessee families," said Myron Oglesby-Pitts with TSAC.
In addition to the scholarship funds, lottery officials expect to provide $2.1 million this year from unclaimed prizes to fund after-school programs, and nearly $3.5 million next year.
On Monday, the lottery launches sales for the multistate Powerball jackpot.
That may provide a bump in sales, depending on how big the jackpot is. But Paul said the lottery likely will continue getting the largest share of proceeds from instant ticket sales.
Next year, lottery officials predict average weekly sales next year of $13.3 million, including $10 million from instant ticket sales.
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