First PFD Education Raffle Drawing Held in Juneau

JUNEAU—Governor Mike Dunleavy joined Mike Barnhill, acting commissioner of the Alaska Department of Revenue, and Dr. Michael Johnson, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, at the first drawing of the PFD Education Raffle at Harborview Elementary School.

“I am inspired to see so many Alaskans supporting our children’s educational futures in a new and exciting way. In this first year of the PFD Education Raffle, more than $652,000 of additional funding will be focused solely toward providing educational opportunities for our children,” said Governor Dunleavy. “I’d like to thank the work of the legislature, and Senator Bishop for his leadership in enacting House Bill 213. I look forward to seeing how this raffle will better our children’s futures.”

“I want to thank the Governor for inviting me to witness the first drawing of the PFD Education Raffle. I am thrilled so many Alaskans participated in this fun, new way to support education. It’s a win-win for everyone. A few lucky Alaskans will receive a cash prize, and all Alaska’s children will benefit from the larger investment in public education,” said Senator Click Bishop.

“The Department of Revenue remains thankful for the enactment of HB 213,” said Barnhill. “With this important legislation we converted the Public School Trust to an endowment fund, which took full advantage of the markets in 2019, and increased its balance by over $100 million last year. The icing on the cake for HB 213 was the PFD Education Raffle—which raised several hundred thousand dollars in additional funds for education.”

“We are fortunate to live in a state that advocates for education,” said Dr. Johnson. “This drawing is a demonstration of the support our public schools receive from the Governor, Legislature, and our fellow Alaskans. As a result of the state’s support for education through this raffle, just under half-a-million dollars will be granted to local school districts. Another nearly quarter million dollars will fund future education projects in communities across the state. Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s raffle. Your contributions are a direct investment in Alaska’s youth.”

The 2019 PFD Education Raffle winners are as follows:

1st place: James Johnson

2nd place: Joshua Foster

3rd place: Dantasia James

4th place: Laura Hayes

House Bill 213 established the PFD Education Raffle in 2018, allowing Alaskans to donate money from their PFD to public education in $100 increments per entry. In the first year of existence the Education Raffle had 8,698 contributions, totaling $869,800. As prescribed by law, 50 percent is allocated to supplemental education grants, 25 percent is allocated to the Education Endowment Fund, and 25 percent is allocated to the raffle fund. Of the raffle fund, first prize is 8 percent of the raffle fund, second prize is 4 percent, third prize is 2 percent, fourth prize is 1 percent, and the remaining 85 percent of the raffle fund will grow the fund for future year prize money.