Q: I’m curious to know how much money has been received from the state lottery for the schools, by name of school, in Bakersfield and in Kern County and how the money was used, i.e., classroom supplies, teacher salaries, etc., in percentages.


A: Wow. That’s a lot of numbers, considering Kern County has more than 250 public schools. We don’t have room to print all those numbers now, but below you’ll find how much most Kern County school districts got last school year.

Each district then distributes the lottery money among its schools or uses it in other ways to enhance instruction.

For those who don’t know, at least 34 percent of California Lottery revenue must be distributed each year to public schools, colleges and universities. The money must be used for instructional purposes.

Last school year, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools distributed $27,453,794 to K-12 school districts throughout the county. The amount a district gets depends on how many students attend the district’s schools on an average school day.

So $27,453,794 sounds like a lot of money, right? Well, it is, but it actually only makes up about 2 percent of districts’ budgets. The money is meant as a supplement to other sources of education funding.

Some of the money must be spent on instructional materials such as books, supplies, etc. The rest of the money is unrestricted, meaning it can be spent for other educational purposes.

For example, the Kern High School District uses its unrestricted money to help pay for salaries and benefits, said Associate Superintendent of Business Dennis Scott.

The Bakersfield City School District also spends its unrestricted money on salaries and benefits as well as more instructional materials and field trips, said district spokesman Daniel Mendez.

The Fruitvale School District spends its unrestricted money on technology throughout the district, such as computers and computer lab aides, said district Director of Business Kelly Giggy.

Schools are not allowed to spend the money on buying property, construction or any other non-instructional purpose, (which is part of the reason districts still often have to pass bonds and/or use developer fees for new construction).