Governor Bev Perdue recently announced she is fully restoring funds to the lottery capital fund for public schools. Stokes County is among the counties that has received money that had been withheld due to the state’s budgetary deficits.

“When the national recession created a shortfall of billions of dollars, I had to turn over every stone to pay North Carolina’s bills — to pay teachers, to keep schools and other core services running,” Perdue stated. “With our bills paid and the books for last fiscal year cleared out, I’m restoring the school construction lottery funds in full, which means North Carolina’s public schools will receive another $37.6 million next week.”

In February, Perdue withheld $37.6 million from the Public School Building Capital Fund for the 2008-09 fiscal year. This withholding was to make sure the state had sufficient resources to manage cash flow and payroll obligations. Those funds are being restored to school systems, using money left over from the 2008-09 fiscal year.

“It makes a big difference,” said Dr. Stewart Hobbs, superintendent of Stokes County Schools. “That money was being figured into school construction.” Stokes County is in the process of reconstructing Nancy Reynolds Elementary School and is looking ahead to building a new elementary school in King. Another pressing project, still in the pre-planning stages, is the costly renovation of Southeastern Middle School in Walnut Cove.

Hobbs explained that the restored funds don’t actually come directly to the school system. They go into a county fund where they are governed by the board of county commissioners. “We request it,” Hobbs elaborated on the process of actually obtaining the lottery money to use it for construction purposes.

He confessed relief that the funds were being restored for their original purpose. “It helps,” he admitted.

Stokes County received $217,285 in the first quarter of last fiscal year. The payment for the second quarter was frozen by the Governor. Stokes County Finance Director Julia Edwards acknowledged that the second quarter funds have now been put into Stokes County’s account. As of the end of September, $170,654 had been restored to Stokes County.