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Home > District Resource Allocation > Some School Districts Won the MacKenzie Scott Jackpot. What Happened Next?

Some School Districts Won the MacKenzie Scott Jackpot. What Happened Next?

BY Laura Anderson
Money falling out of a water faucet

Marguerite Roza
Published January 2026 on Education Next

Three years after districts unexpectedly received large, unrestricted MacKenzie Scott donations totaling millions, their outcomes have varied widely. In this article Roza examines what happened next, showing how inertia in education systems complicates spending decisions, budgeting, and the long-term sustainability of district finances.

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Edunomics Lab is a university-based research center dedicated to exploring and modeling complex education fiscal decisions and growing the capacity of education leaders on the topic of education finance. The center is part of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
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