FLORIDA — The Florida Lottery is paying out much more than it should for its headquarters. WFTV found a lot of wasted space and inflated lease payments that drain money from local schools.
READ: Statement, Background From Florida Lottery
But the agency says its making some changes after investigative reporter George Spencer started asking questions.
A brightly-colored 18-wheeler out front draws attention to the Florida Lottery building that the agency may not want.
WFTV found big chunks sitting empty, bleeding money that could go to classrooms.
Local parents such as Trish Ortiz are astonished.
"It's more than frustrating, it's disappointing," Ortiz said.
Over the past decade, the Lottery has trimmed staff in half and outsourced workers, but it did not give up space.
The agency spent almost half-a-million dollars on $30,000 square feet space that was never used.
On top that WFTV discovered it paid a high price for space it did use.
The Lottery headquarters building is privately-owned, and space in it is leased for about 25 percent more than it would be in a state-owned building.
That extra 25 percent costs an extra $556,000 in rent, that, and the costs of unused space add up to more than $1 million a year.
State lawmakers said they're aware of the problem, but their hands are tied.
"Instead of saying I'm surprised, I would say I'm disappointed," said Sen. Alan Hays, Fla. Senate District 20.
Lottery managers could cancel their lease with no penalty if they find a nearby state building with comparable space. But the agency can't find that suitable space elsewhere, and has no plans to move.
"It's incredibly frustrating to me because I deal with shortfalls in budgets for things we'd like to do," Sen. J.D. Alexander, Fla. Senate
Meanwhile, Lottery money for public schools will drop by $106 million this year.
"I've been pressing on this for years now, and it has been amazingly difficult," said Alexander.
The new Lottery Commissioner, Cynthia O'Connell, vowed to resolve the excess space problem. And, since questions about the issue first came up several years ago, 16,000 square feet of unused space has been sub-leased to other businesses.