A measure that would collect all the gambling revenue coming to the state and place it into one fund to be distributed to school districts on a per-pupil basis has moved forward in the House. Representative Rod Jetton of Marble Hill sponsors the Classroom Trust Fund bill. He says it will add to school funding, acknowledging that gambling money is now being funneled into the school funding formula. Critics disagree. Representative Chuck Graham of Columbia calls it a shell game that won’t benefit schools. Graham and others also say the fund would make the state vulnerable to the type of lawsuit that forced the Legislature to rewrite the school funding formula. The bill needs another favorable vote to move to the Senate.
