PONDERAY — While hype music roared from speakers, participants tapped their fingers, talked smack and stretched in a gathering room at the Best Western in Ponderay on Wednesday. 

That meant it was time for one thing: the 25th annual Scratch for Schools event. Representatives from the region’s schools competed in a five-minute sprint to see who could scratch the most scratchers from the Idaho Lottery as possible for money that would go back to the schools. 

"It’s a record number, this is the most schools we’ve ever had registered to come to the Sandpoint event at 21,” Idaho Lottery public information specialist David Workman said. “There are teams in this room that I do know are capable of scratching all 200 tickets, two schools so far across the state have been successful in doing that, a middle school in Twin Falls and yesterday it was Grangeville Middle School.” 

This year, schools from across Bonner and Boundary counties participated with the Idaho Lottery handing out $7,729 to those schools during the event. After two years at the top, scratching all 200 tickets, Sandpoint High School was dethroned by a familiar foe, Sandpoint Middle School. 

With scratchers office coordinator Vali Johansen and industrial tech teacher Amanda Johnson, the Bullpups were able to scratch all 200 tickets, becoming the third school in the state to achieve the feat. Encouraging the duo was Principal Geoffrey Penrose, who said they came in with a mission to beat SHS. 

“We're rivals, but very collaborative,” Penrose said. “But the first year, we came and did it, we sat next to them and watched these two blow us out of the water, so we decided we wanted to up our game a little bit.” 

SMS and SHS were joined by Kootenai Elementary as the top three performers. Clad in custom T-shirts, the trio called the Kootenai Loot Club were able to take home a $200 bonus for their school by way of three coin flips. 

While those three schools scratched the most, it was Northside Elementary who took home the crown as the top earners after finding the jackpot $500 ticket.  

Penrose said that SMS uses the money to purchase items that staff doesn’t want to use taxpayer funds for. He said the money typically goes toward supporting the individual scratchers’ programs like Johnson’s wood shop class. 

“Generally, because Amanda comes from the shop and Vali is the administrative assistant for the school that that money goes to their particular areas,” Penrose said. "That money goes to stuff that we wouldn't want to spend taxpayer dollars on, but we'd really like to have so for instance, Vali, she bought the office standing desks.” 

Total amounts handed out to schools: 

Northside Elementary, $774 

Kootenai Elementary, $674 

Sandpoint Middle School, $477 

Sandpoint High School, $474 

Farmin Stidwell Elementary, $474 

Sagle Elementary, $424 

Forrest Bird Charter School, $325 

Hope Elementary, $317 

Mt. Hall Elementary, $309 

Priest River Elementary, $309 

Boundary County Online School, $309 

Washington Elementary, $304 

Priest River Lamanna Jr./Sr. High School, $299 

Clark Fork High School, $279 

Lake Pend Oreille High School, $274 

Southside Elementary, $274 

Boundary County Middle School, $274 

Idaho Hill Elementary, $272 

    Kootenai Elementary Assistant Principal raises his fist to celebrate earning a $200 bonus via coinflip at the Idaho Lottery event.
  

    Participants from the Priest River Lamanna Jr./Sr. scratch at the Idaho Lottery event.
  

    Amanda Johnson from Sandpoint Middle School tapes up her fingers before the Idaho Lottery Scratch for Schools events.