Fifth graders at an elementary school and eighth graders at a middle school in Alamance County are taking classes in brand-new classrooms built with the county’s share of lottery dollars designated for school construction and repair.
The elementary students recently moved into new classrooms at Altamahaw-Ossipee Elementary School and the middle school students are studying in new classrooms at Western Middle School. Local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 6 to celebrate the new classrooms and it drew the attention of the local media. Here’s an excerpt from a story, "Elementary students move into new classrooms," about the project by the Burlington newspaper, The Times News.
“Fifth-grade students at Altamahaw-Ossipee Elementary School celebrated their new digs Friday afternoon.
That was during a ribbon-cutting ceremony that highlighted the use of state lottery money to build classroom additions at schools in the Alamance-Burlington system.
The four-classroom addition at Altamahaw-Ossipee was the result of $1.2 million in lottery money spent on the expansion there. At nearby Western Middle School, a $1.25 million addition means four more classrooms there. Students recently moved into the new classrooms at both schools.
Officially known as the North Carolina Education Lottery, the lottery marked its fifth year in 2011. Lottery representatives joined school board members, other elected and government officials, students and teachers for the ribbon-cutting.
“Do you love your new building?” Alamance-Burlington Board of Education chairwoman Jackie Cole asked students. “Yes,” they shouted boisterously. Principal Donna King noted the project included an interior hallway between two buildings. “That was the most wonderful thing, especially since it’s gotten cold,” she said.
Previously, the Alamance-Burlington School System has used $1.4 million for new classrooms at B. Everett Jordan Elementary School and $1.1 million for new classrooms at Sylvan Elementary School. It currently has $4.1 million in unallocated school construction monies provided by the lottery. The lottery dollars allow the county to move forward with construction projects without relying on revenues from property taxes.
Every county in the state gets its share of lottery dollars to use for school construction and repair projects. Lottery dollars are also used for teacher salaries in grades K-3 with the goal of keeping class size low, for prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, and to provide college scholarships and financial aid based on need. Find out how much your county has received in lottery funds by looking at Page 2 of our most recent brochure showing how lottery dollars have been allocated across the state.
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