Governor Perdue Highlights the Transfer of the Six Billionth Dollar from the Georgia Lottery Corporation to the Lottery for Education Account

Atlanta -Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the transfer of the Georgia Lottery Corporation's sixth billionth dollar to the Lottery for Education Account since the lottery's inception in 1993. Joining Governor Perdue at the Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, Georgia were officials from the Georgia Lottery Corporation, Department of Technical and Adult Education, Georgia Student Finance Commission, and the Office of School Readiness.

"HOPE is more than a successful education program; it is an engine of growth and opportunity for our state," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "We must keep this engine running smoothly by preserving the HOPE scholarship and our pre-kindergarten program to ensure a bright and prosperous future for Georgia students."

All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs. These include Georgia's HOPE scholarship program and a statewide voluntary pre-kindergarten program for four-year-olds.

Since 1993, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned over $6 billion to the state of Georgia for education. More than $2.5 billion has been appropriated and distributed to over 700,000 HOPE Scholarship recipients. Over $2.1 billion has supported Georgia's Pre-kindergarten program with more than 500,000 four-year-olds having attended high-quality Pre-K programs throughout the state. Approximately $1.8 billion has improved Georgia schools through Capital Outlay initiatives and Technology Grants.