Lottery-linked scholarships face lower sales, higher tuition

Lottery proceeds fund scholarships that provide nearly free tuition to state schools, but the program has been struggling to stay afloat.

The brief burst in Powerball ticket sales did not reverse a trend of lotto proceeds failing to keep up with the rising costs of higher education, and lawmakers are facing the possibility of having to impose dramatic cuts to the program.

During the legislative session that ended last month, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez pushed through a bill allowing for unclaimed prize money to be transferred to the lottery tuition fund.

New Mexico, where poverty is entrenched, already leads the nation with the highest student loan default rate, federal data show.

"The real problem is that New Mexico's four-year research colleges saw the lottery scholarship as a blank check from Santa Fe and have rapidly increased tuition costs over the last 15 years," said Republican state Rep. Jason Harper, who has been working on the issue since his election in 2013.