Hope For Arkansas makes case for education lottery

Marvin Schwartz, campaign manager for Hope For Arkansas, spoke to members of the Trumann Rotary Club Aug. 28 about the need to pass a constitutional amendment to create a state lottery to fund college scholarships for Arkansas students. (Democrat photo/Mark Randall)

Marvin Schwartz understands that there are some people in Arkansas who have an objection to a lottery and the concept of gambling.

And that's fine. They have a right to vote their convictions.

But for Schwartz, campaign manager for Hope For Arkansas, a privately funded group that is leading the effort to establish a scholarship lottery for higher education, it's not about gambling or ones religious beliefs. It's about the future of Arkansas's children.

"We are 50th in the country in the number of college graduates in the adult population," Schwartz said. "There is a new world of high tech demands that require an educated workforce. We simply can not go along as business as usual."

Schwartz spoke about the lottery to the Trumann Rotary club on Aug. 28 during their weekly meeting at Couch's.

Hope For Arkansas spearheaded the effort to gather the required number of signatures to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this November which would allow the legislature to create a lottery that would be used to fund college scholarships for Arkansas students.

The effort to get the lottery on the ballot has been publicly backed by Lt. Gov. Bill Halter.

The group gathered over 78,000 signatures across the state.

"We got it through a consensus of the people," Schwartz said. "Our primary message was let the people decide to allow the state to create a lottery."

Arkansas is one of only eight states in the U.S. that does not have a lottery. The state constitution currently prohibits that state from having a lottery.

Schwartz said Hope for Arkansas estimates that a lottery would generate about $100 million a year in new money for college scholarships.

The state currently has only $40 million to spend on scholarships, he said.

"The bottom line is, there will be an enormous increase in public scholarship funding than we have now," Schwartz said. "It more than triples the amount of funds available for the state."

The money from the lottery would be used exclusively for scholarships and grants to students enrolled in any two or four year colleges or universities.

"These will not be loans," Schwartz said. "These will be direct financial assistance to people who are going to college.

Schwartz said there are three good reasons why he is urging residents to vote for the lottery: Arkansans are already playing the lottery in neighboring states; college is expensive and imposes a burden on families; and the state needs more college graduates.

He said Arkansans already go across the state border to buy lottery tickets. Five of the six states bordering Arkansas have lotteries. Mississippi doesn't have a lottery because it has casino gaming.

Mr. T's in Cardwell, Mo. is the number one selling lottery retail outlet in Missouri, he said.

"The fact is, Arkansans are playing the lottery all over," Schwartz said. "This tells us people like to play the lottery. And they are doing it to the tune of millions and millions of dollars. But when you cross state lines to buy a lottery ticket at Mr. T's, you are helping the young people of Missouri go to college. You are contributing to the sales tax and revenue base of Missouri. Shouldn't the money that we are already spending stay in Arkansas and help Arkansans?"

Lottery officials in Oklahoma predict a loss of $10 million to their lottery if Arkansas passes its own game, and Missouri officials are projecting a loss of $20 to $25 million a year.

"We are already playing the lottery," Schwartz said. "We just don't have it in our own state. So we are going to other states to do that."

Schwartz said the lottery would also ease the financial burden of going college.

The average Arkansas college student will owe $17,000 in loans upon graduation, he said.

"College is expensive," Schwartz said. "The real truth is, some people will postpone going to college because they simply can't afford it.

Arkansas also needs more college graduates. A recent study gave the state an "F" in college preparation.

Schwartz said there is a reason why companies like Hewlett-Packard chose to build a new factory in Conway and not the Delta. Conway is home to two colleges, he said.

Marion, on the other hand, has been passed over twice by Toyota because of a lack of an educated workforce.

The jobs at Hewlett Packard will pay an average of $40,000 a year.

Schwartz said people who have only a high school diploma can expect to earn $300,000 over 40 years. Those who possess a college degree, on the other hand, can expect to earn $1 million over 40 years.

"The average difference between a high school graduate's lifetime earnings and a college graduate's earnings is phenomenal," Schwartz said. "The more you learn, the more you earn."

Schwartz said jobs in the 21st century -- even in small towns -- are becoming increasingly more knowledge-based. A statewide education lottery would help prepare the state's young people to be successful, he said.

"The essential matter is that the Hope Scholarship Lottery would enable thousands of Arkansans to pursue a college degree," Schwartz said. "They would qualify for better paying jobs and they would have a higher quality of life."