Ross school employees win $1 million lottery

Ten years of playing the lottery has paid off for a group of employees at Ross Local Schools.

Superintendent Greg Young said 38 employees — including custodians, cooks, secretaries, teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals — won a $1 million payout from the Ohio Lottery Powerball after matching five numbers on the Oct. 18 drawing.

“It’s a group of people who’ve been playing the lottery together for 10 years,” Young said.

The group did not hit the winning Powerball number, Young said. But the 38 winners will get an estimated $18,000 each after taxes.

“Everybody dreams about, ‘What would I do if I won the lottery?’ It keeps people playing,” Young said. “Even though it’s not a huge amount by lottery standards … it’s still an amount of money that will make a difference in their lives.”

Young, one of the lucky 38, said the lottery pool originated at Ross Middle School with a group of teachers. Now it includes staff from the high school and district office.

“Most of us are still a little shocked that it happened; some are still in disbelief,” said Chris Saylor, principal at the middle school and one of the winners.

Saylor said the winning staff was gathered this past Tuesday in a classroom to get the news. They were only told they’d “won a little prize” before the winning ticket was unveiled.

Saylor said some of the employees have mentioned using the money to buy a new car, save for a college fund or pay off bills.

Young said the $1 million payout is the first “major amount” the group has won. He said several smaller payouts in the past were used to purchase scratch-off tickets for the group.

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