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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.


6 COMMENTS

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4/07/2026 01:37 - althea a.

One word Amazing ????????

2/25/2026 03:53 - Brian T.

News reports and findings of the state auditor went away immediately in the news. That speaks volumes instead of this flaky PR campaign facade that the lotteries push about how they're helping save society and doing good work legitimately.

2/24/2026 08:38 - Esther W.

Goldsboro High School is 100 yrs old. Please rebuild...overdue.NC Lottery
Hi, Esther! Thank you for your comment. More than $1.5 million in lottery funds helped build an addition for Goldsboro High School in 2015. More recently, Wayne County received a $30 million lottery-funded grant to build the new Fremont Elementary School. Applications for the needs-based grants are awarded through the Department of Public Instruction on an annual basis.

2/24/2026 08:10 - john T.

@michael . It says 62 count ties 40 schools. Not just one .

2/24/2026 07:41 - Donnie J.

Hi NC lottery! I love checking the winners tab to see if there have been any lucky wins in my sleepy little town - but recently I noticed that the winners tab no longer displays all winners, only select big wins. I'm just wondering if this feature will return? Thanks! -JNDNC Lottery
Hi, Donnie! Thank you for sharing this feedback with us, and we'll be sure to pass this along to the folks in charge of those decisions. Knowing what features are important to our players helps guide our decision-making for the future. In the meantime, if you'd like additional info about any wins, you can submit a request at https://records.lotterync.net.

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!!NC Lottery
Hi, Michael! With the help of lottery-funded needs-based grants, 8 new schools opened their doors last year and more than 45 schools are currently under construction. So far, 62 counties have received a needs-based grants to build or repair schools. In addition, counties annually benefit from $100 million in lottery funds for school construction, while another $50 million - $500,000 per county – funds repair and renovation projects. Overall, the lottery has raised over $4 billion for school construction since 2006. You can learn more about our impact in education at https://nclottery.com/education.

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