A California lottery winner's loss could be state public schools' gain if a victorious ticket goes unclaimed by Monday.
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Last fall, a person in Riverside County purchased a $2.2 million-winning Powerball ticket at a gas station in Perris. Monday marks 180 days since the winner bought the ticket on Oct. 27, 2021, when the purchaser correctly picked five of six winning numbers (3-26-51-35-6). The only number they missed was the red Powerball number (17).
If the ticket is unclaimed on Monday, California Lottery officials said the $2.2 million will go to state public schools. Since tickets were first sold in 1985, the California Lottery said in a release on Thursday it has donated more than $1 billion from unclaimed lottery winnings, and $39 billion overall since then.
The California Department of Education announced earlier this month that K-12 public school enrollment fell below 6 million this year for the first time since the start of the century. California public schools have resumed taking daily attendance in order to determine state funding for next year, which could leave a number of districts and schools facing further budget shortfalls.
Lottery funding is also attached to average daily attendance, and 79.9% of the lottery funds are distributed to K-12 schools. That would leave nearly $1.8 million for K-12 public schools, assuming the winning ticket goes unclaimed, which is less than one-tenth of the $19.7 million that went unclaimed last year after a woman in Los Angeles County might have washed her winning ticket in the laundry.
If you believe you purchased the winning ticket in Perris, you can complete a claim form on the California Lottery website, or by visiting one of nine district offices throughout the state. The nearest office to the winning Circle K is in Rancho Cucamonga, about 35 miles away from Perris.
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