By Liz Sidoti
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Lottery made $31.3 million less than expected during the last budget year, forcing the Ohio Department of Education to dip into a reserve fund to make up the difference.

"Because of that transfer, we can confidently say that no schools will go without these funds," department spokesman J.C. Benton said Tuesday.

The Controlling Board, a legislative panel that approves state spending not included in the state's capital or operating budgets, approved the transfer last month. Lottery profits, by law, go to schools and make up about 9 percent of the Education Department's annual state funding.

In the fiscal year that ended Monday, the lottery gave $641.4 million to schools, about 4.6 percent less than the goal of $672.7 million. Still, that was $6.2 million more than in the previous year, which ended June 2002.

Mega Millions, the multistate game that lawmakers approved last year to balance the state budget, beat expectations by turning a $74 million profit in its first year. State officials had estimated it would raise $41 million a year.

Lottery officials attributed the overall profit increase in part to a 4.4 percent rise in sales - from $2.1 billion to $1.9 billion - compared with a year ago.

Mardele Cohen, a lottery spokeswoman, said strong June sales from a $180 million Mega Millions jackpot that was won June 20 helped push total sales past $2 billion. Mega Millions sales alone were about $27 million in June, or double the monthly average of $13.5 million.

Overall, profits came in below expectations for eight out of the last 12 months.

Cohen said projections were set several years ago when the economy was better, and the agency alerted the Education Department months ago that the amount transferred to them would be lower than anticipated.

As a result, $30 million in one-time money was taken out of the lottery profit reserve fund, which now has a balance of about $8.4 million, said Traci Saliba, a policy administrator with the state budget office.

She said the state will start rebuilding the fund this month by transferring about $7 million in unclaimed prize money into it.