The first week of school for some students in North Carolina will look and feel different this year because of lottery-funded school construction projects completed over the summer.

When students return to Alexander Wilson Elementary in Alamance County this year, they will see a freshly painted school, three new ADA access ramps, and a new canopy for student drop-off and pick-up.

“It’s an older building,” said Molly Ellington, a third-grade teacher at Alexander Wilson Elementary. “So it’s easy to look mundane. But this year coming back to school will be exciting for the students, because the new school will look fresh and inviting.”

Over 150 miles away, in Jones County, students at Trenton Elementary, Jones Middle, and Jones Senior High will be returning from summer and walking onto their current campuses for the last time. A new state-of-the-art school is being built that will serve over 60 percent of students in the county, from Pre-K through the 12th grade. It’s set to open in August of 2019.

“We have such a small tax base,” said Dr. Michael Bracy, superintendent of Jones County Public School System. “So we are not able to generate enough money to build and renovate schools. Lottery dollars help offset the shortfall for school construction needs. Without it, this new school wouldn’t be happening, and our students deserve it. They deserve the world.”

Each of North Carolina’s 100 counties have received school construction monies every year since the lottery began in 2006. These projects are examples of how the money raised by the lottery is being put to work in schools across North Carolina – building new schools and repairing existing ones.

Beginning last year, legislators increased funding for school construction by adopting a new needs-based grant program. This new program, funded exclusively by lottery dollars, provides small, rural counties with critical building needs the necessary dollars to build new schools.

By creating that new program, lottery dollars now support school construction in two ways. This year, $217 million of the money raised by the lottery will go to help counties meet their school construction and repair needs. This is an increase of $87 million from last year.

The Education Lottery raised the most money ever in fiscal year 2018 for education programs in North Carolina as earnings topped $670 million. The legislature directs the money the lottery raises to support various programs, including school construction. For details on how lottery dollars are used in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com