Supervisor Wanted a Raise for Staff; They Got Jackpot

Victoria Hales marched into her supervisor’s office Wednesday morning and demanded a raise for her overworked, underpaid staff of child development workers at the Colton Unified School District.

A few hours later, 30 employees of the school district near San Bernardino, many of them child development workers, learned they had won the California Lottery’s $15-million jackpot.

The winners, who chose the cash option, will share a total of $7,743,016. After a 28% federal withholding tax is taken out, each will receive $185,831.

“My heart is breaking for these people; as a group they totally deserve it,” Hales, director of the child development program, said. “I know how hard they work, where they live, and how little they earn. I’m so happy for them.”

Child development worker Yolanda Martinez, 57, who teaches preschoolers, was among the lucky ones.

She was at work about 6:30 a.m. when a parent rushed into her classroom at San Salvador School and asked, “Are you the winner? I heard it was somebody from Colton who bought the ticket at R&R; Liquor!”

“Then there were waves of tears, screams and hugs across the school,” Martinez said. “Personally, I’m going to buy a nice van, then a house here in Colton.”

“Once we calm down,” she added, “we’re going to do something for the school; maybe throw a big bash for the kids.”

The group had bought 30 tickets 24 times during the last six months at nearby R&R; Liquor Store, which in 1991 sold a lottery ticket worth $15.2 million.

For Wednesday’s win, the store will get about $75,000, said lottery spokeswoman Norma Minas.

“I’m lucky, my store is lucky,” said co-owner Joo Park, 56, who sold the winning ticket to Reina Rios on Monday. “That group is pretty lucky, too.”

Hales intends to continue pressing for raises for people who, she said, are “dedicated to their jobs and community but are at the lower end of the salary scale.”