Letters: Take a chance on education

NOTHING is more important than providing our children with the best education possible - and that costs money. Philadelphia School Superintendent Dr. William Hite estimates that our schools will need another $320 million for the next school year.

Although we all continue to fight for a fair education-funding formula from the commonwealth, we must also seek creative alternative sources of revenue to ensure that our children get the quality education they deserve. I have two ideas that could generate an estimated $30 million a year in additional revenue for our schools.

The first idea is based on a nightly occurrence at all home Flyers game. The Flyers Charities conduct a 50/50 game of chance for all 41 home games, with an average nightly attendance of 19,845 fans. They collect an estimated $60,000 per game that, when split in half, generates approximately $30,000 a game for charity - or $1.2 million annually.

I propose establishing a monthly Philadelphia-only 50/50 game of chance that would be administered by state lottery officials, and could conservatively generate $1 million to $1.5 million each month for an estimated annual total of $15 million for our schools.

My second idea involves permitting slots and other gaming devices at Philadelphia International Airport to enhance traveler experience while also providing much-needed revenue for our schools.

With more than 600 daily flights, Philadelphia International Airport accommodated more than 30 million passengers last year. On any given day, once these passengers pass the TSA checkpoint, they have limited in-terminal options for food and entertainment.

While McCarran International Airport, in Las Vegas, Nev., may be the most gambling-friendly airport in the country, the fact remains that their 1,300 slot machines and other gaming devices generated an estimated $27 million last year for Clark County. Hosting more than 41 million passengers a year, McCarran Airport generates on average 66 cents per passenger in gaming revenue.

Pennsylvania taxes slot-machine revenue at 55 cents for every dollar, significantly higher than Nevada. If Philadelphia realized a similar per-passenger rate as McCarran, we could generate more than $15 million a year in new revenue for our schools.

Other states and municipalities have recently begun debating and implementing similar revenue-generating gaming options. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport added video-gaming terminals last year to produce revenue for building a new football stadium.

Just last month, the New York State Senate voted to approve video-gaming terminals and slot machines for JFK International and LaGuardia Airport. Chicago and Baltimore also have explored gaming devices at their respective airports.

Combining these two ideas, we could generate an estimated $30 million for our schools. While not solving our $320 million deficit, it's real money that can be added to our much-needed education fund.