When you play the lottery, where does the money go? Thanks to our players, the lottery raises over $1 billion a year for education in North Carolina. This year, $408 million of that goes towards school construction to help build schools like the new Hoke County High School in Raeford.
2026-09-14 03:10:14
Students in Hoke County are making history as they start the first academic year in a completely new school, built with the help of nearly $48 million in lottery-funded grants.
As educators and students arrived for the first day of school this week, they traded modular classrooms for a bright, open space made for collaborative learning.
Improving public school buildings not only offers better security and resources, it sets students up for success with a creative and motivating atmosphere.
“Your zip code matters not. You can achieve any goals you set your mind to,” shared Principal Colleen Pegram-Wike on what the new school means for her students. “This community cares enough about you to build this capacity of a building so you can dare to dream and make your dreams come true.”
Over the last 20 years, the lottery has provided over $113 million to support education in Hoke County.
“We are excited about what this is going to do to our community as a whole,” shared Hoke County Commissioner and Hoke County High School Graduate Allen Thomas. “We want to thank the North Carolina Education Lottery. We could not have done this without them.”
There are now 62 counties like Hoke that have received needs-based grants, helping build or renovate more than 100 schools across the state. In addition to these grants for rural counties, money raised by the lottery supports every school district by helping to fund school construction needs, NC Pre-K, K-12 support staff salaries, school transportation, and college scholarships.
Want to see how you’re helping education in your own community? Visit the Education page of our website to find your county on the map.
See how your play makes a difference in the video below!
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