ATLANTA – Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia Lottery Corporation officials, and heads of the government agencies that benefit from the state's public school scholarship program celebrated the lottery’s 30th anniversary Wednesday.
“That is a [large] amount of time,” Kemp told reporters during a ceremony inside the governor's office at the Georgia Capitol. “A whole generation of students have benefited, some twice.”
Since the first lottery ticket went on sale on June 29, 1993, the lottery has transferred more than $26.5 billion to education in Georgia. More than 2.1 million college students have benefited from the scholarship programs, while more than 2 million 4-year-old students have been able to attend school through the lottery.
Georgia Lottery Corporation celebrates 30th anniversary
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INTERMEDIATE
Kemp and Gretchen Corbin, head of the Georgia Lottery Corporation, spoke about spending an extra $61 billion in 2024 to bring back 100% of tuition coverage to the scholarship program.
The extra coverage will save the average scholarship winner about $400 a year.
The scholarship program was hit with benefit cuts more than fifteen years ago and has been slowly building back toward full tuition coverage. But Kemp said the success of the scholarship program is more than dollars and cents.
“It is [about how many students have] good-paying jobs because the scholarship gave them the opportunity for higher education,” he said.
Greg Dozier, head of an organization of colleges in Georgia, said 51% of the students attending the state’s colleges are first-generation college students.
The scholarship program was hit with benefit cuts more than fifteen years ago and has been slowly building back toward full tuition coverage. But Kemp said the success of the scholarship program is more than dollars and cents.
“It is [about how many students have] good-paying jobs because the scholarship gave them the opportunity for higher education,” he said.
Greg Dozier, head of an organization of colleges in Georgia, said 51% of the students attending the state’s colleges are first-generation college students.
“When we change an individual, we change a family and a community,” he said.
Words and phrases
corporation /ˌkoɚpəˈreɪʃən/
a large business
scholarship /ˈskɑːlɚˌʃɪp/
an award of money given to a student by a school or business to help pay for the cost of the student's tuition
tuition /təˈwɪʃən/
the cost to go to a school
coverage /ˈkʌvərɪʤ/
the amount of a certain cost that someone else will pay, such as tuition
community /kəˈmjuːnəti/
a group of people who live in the same area and have many things in common, such as race, religion, or amount of money
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