I received a press release last week saying the North Carolina Education Lottery made its second transfer of lottery revenues to the state this fiscal year---a whopping $111.6 million for education.

This transfer includes money earned from ticket sales and from unclaimed prizes in the second quarter of the year, Oct. 1- Dec. 31, 2011. As of Dec. 31, lottery ticket sales in the state for the first six months of the fiscal year totaled $748.5 million, up 11.4 percent compared to the same time period last year.

That makes a total of $226.5 million to the state for education so far this fiscal year. Keep in mind the fiscal year runs July 1-June 30.

The executive director of the state education lottery was quoted in the press release saying if strong lottery sales continue in the second half of the fiscal year (Jan.-June), then the lottery will be on track for another record year in sales and for the contributions it makes to education programs. She attributes the increase in sales to growing popularity of lottery games and to an increase in the number of retailers that sell the tickets.

Keys to their growth, she added, were strong performances from instant tickets, continued growth in retailers who sell the tickets, and the addition of a mid-day lottery drawing. It all adds up, she said, to more money for teacher salaries, more school construction money, more money for college scholarships and financial aid, and more money to give four-year-olds a strong start at school.

This sounds wonderful, but I had trouble digesting this press release. I am sure the facts are accurate - mind boggling - but accurate.

If the lottery is on tract for ANOTHER record year in sales and funding for education throughout the state, why are we laying off teachers in our public schools?

Why are home foreclosures and bankruptcies happening at alarming rates if people have money - especially money with which to buy a record number of lottery tickets? If we have large numbers of unemployed, underemployed, poverty-stricken, or even homeless persons in our state as many organizations and state representatives say we do, then who is buying all these tickets? Are hard-working men and women spending their hard-earned cash on chances to win a lottery in today’s tough economy?

What would happen if just half of the millions of dollars in lottery tickets was spent in local mom and pop businesses, in our local merchants, in supporting our local businesses.

Maybe more sales tax would be paid, maybe more people would be employed, maybe more and higher paychecks would boost the local economy. Maybe employees would have better benefits and maybe overall all quality of life would be improved.

Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?

It certainly sounds like something worth taking a chance on.