Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor

Given the current state of our education system, the topic of introducing a lottery has been a hotly-debated topic, especially in the past year.

During a recent legislative preview luncheon, several local representatives tackled many bills for the next legislative session, including a proposed lottery bill. During the discussion, Jim Carnes, of House District 48, weighed the pros and cons of the proposed lottery bill which would help provide funds to education.

“A lottery is $170 million. That’s not a lot of money compared to a $9.4 billion education budget,” Carnes said. “There’s a lot of residual problems with the lottery. There are a lot of benefits.”

So, $170 million is not a lot of money? I understand he is speaking comparatively, but I can tell you as someone who grew up and went to school in Shelby County, we need that money. I believe $170 million sounds like an awfully nice amount of money to the teachers who spend money out of their own pockets for supplies while the roof leaks and the classroom air conditioner isn’t working properly. It’s a lot of money to any athletes using ancient equipment and students using hand-me-down textbooks.

I wonder why Alabama teachers are moving to Georgia? It couldn’t possibly be because they’re paid better, right?

I love Shelby County and I’m proud of where I’ve come along with the opportunities and experiences I had growing up in Columbiana. However, there are so many programs that were not available to me as a student going to Elvin Hill, Columbiana Middle and even Shelby County High School. Those programs offer brand new career paths that students like me never even considered because we didn’t get the opportunity. Alabama needs to make a big push to fund education and assist local schools, and it needed to do so yesterday.

Now, perhaps someone might say they object to the establishment of a lottery and the legalization of gambling due to moral objections, in which case, personally, I agree with you. I understand very well the downsides of a lottery and how, in some ways, it is a tax on the poor.

However, if we aren’t going to go through with it, fine by me, then actually do something to support education! Don’t let the endless back and forth of moral disagreement distract from the fact nothing is being done. How can we better balance the budget we currently have? Where can we move funds around to improve things for our children who will be the future of the state?

But what do I know? Go ahead and build another prison. Do nothing and wonder why we’re lagging behind the states around us.