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Lottery dollars at work: new classrooms coming to Craven County

February 24, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 1:53 PM
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When you play the lottery, you help build a better future for students across North Carolina.

That support means a big win for Craven County, who just broke ground on the future Freedom Middle School thanks to a $15.3 million lottery-funded grant. Craven County Schools held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus, which will expand Tucker Creek Middle School to merge with Havelock Middle School.

Students and staff from both schools gathered to mark the milestone, including performances from band and chorus students setting the tone for their shared future. A positive learning environment sets a strong foundation for academic success.

Last year, North Carolina’s lottery players raised more than $1 billion for education for the third year in a row. More than half of that money supported school construction, helping school districts replace or repair aging school buildings.

Craven County is one of 62 counties in North Carolina to receive a school construction grant of this kind. To date, lottery dollars have helped open more than 40 new or renovated schools through the needs-based public school capital fund — one of three ways your lottery play helps school construction for every school district.

If you ever wondered how the money raised makes a difference, take the future Freedom Middle School as a tangible example. You can see your lottery dollars in action in the video below.


1 COMMENTS

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2/24/2026 03:34 - Michael L.

That's it? One school? Which isn't a school it's a expansion of a school... somebody doing a lot of money pocketing..period!!

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