House passes bill to allow lottery funds to be used for technology needs

The bill now goes to the Senate. 

"This bill sets some performance requirements," said Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union. "It doesn't just say, 'Here's some money, have a good time, buy some iPads.'"

The measure, he said, is designed to give school districts flexibility in how they use their funding. Some districts, he said, may not need to build more schools or may prefer to finance them in different ways. 

Gov. Pat McCrory mentioned giving school districts more flexibility in his State of the State speech.

Opponents to the bill said it will aggravate differences among school districts. Poorer districts, they said, would not really have the option to use the lottery funds for technology. 

"We'll have a situation where some counties have resources for digital learning and others don't," said Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham.

He said the state should have provided tax dollars for technology rather than passing what, in his words, is a "feel good bill."

Horn objected to that description.

"This is not an appropriations bill. It's not a lottery bill. It's not a directive. It's a bill ... that allows counties, working in cooperation with (school districts) flexibility in funding," he said.