Unclaimed lottery money to buy school buses

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Last year, $1 million went to gambling addiction programs, but the Legislature decided the state's aging school bus fleet was a bigger priority.

"It was mainly the need," said Speaker of the House David Wilkins, R-Greenville. "There was a big push and demand for additional money to go to school buses. It doesn't mean the other program wasn't important."

The amount of money that will be available this year has not been determined, officials said.

Because the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services had the infrastructure to service people suffering from addictions, there was some presumption that the agency would receive the left-over money, said deputy director of communications John Hart.

They have done the necessary paperwork and are awaiting information from the State Budget and Control Board, he said. He also said agencies might be hesitant to apply next year, knowing they didn't get any money this year.

Last year, the state bought 250 buses, said Elmer Whitten, Department of Education deputy superintendent for finance.

The average 62-passenger bus costs the state $60,000 a piece, he said. Buses equipped for special needs students are more expensive.

To keep the aging fleet running, nearly $10 million was diverted to maintain and fuel the buses, according to the Department of Education.

"We had to use the money to buy engines and transmissions to keep the buses we had operating," Whitten said. More buses means the buses get more regular maintenance and spares stay in better condition, he said.

As of May, more than 2,600 of the state's 4,600 buses were between 15 and 22 years old or had been driven more than a 250,000 miles, said State Department of Education spokesman Jim Foster.

If buses were replaced as often as experts suggest, when they were 15 years old or had traveled 250,000 miles, the state would be buying 400 buses a year, he said.

"We just haven't been buying buses. Any year we don't buy school buses, the fleet as a whole ages," he said.

Whitten said department is waiting for several bus manufacturers to unveil their new designs in November before purchasing for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

Lottery officials are stumped as to why so much money goes unclaimed, Robertson said. Depending on the game, players have up to six months to claim prizes, she said.

"We would like for people to claim their money," she said.

Perhaps traveling folks who don't realize they're carrying a winning ticket or hundreds of misplaced tickets are to blame, she said.

Lottery officials said the lottery is likely to exceed forecasts. Through October, the games have produced 45 percent of the $173 million expected to be collected this fiscal year. Since January 2002, the lottery has put $379 million into scholarships and other education programs.

Ishmael Tate can be reached at 298-4020.